Columbia  ®nit)ersftj) 
mt^eCitpoflSrttigork 

THE   LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


CONTRIBUTIONS 


TO 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 

IN  INDIANA 


TOGETHER    WITH  BIOGRAPHICAL   NOTICES 
OF  THE  PIONEER   MINISTERS 


.io,M{V>    i 


HANTOkD^  A;  EDSON 


CINCINNATI,   INDIANAPOLIS,   AND   CHICAGO 

WINONA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


CaA^ 


Copyright,  1898, 
By  Hanford  A.  Edson 


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PREFATORY   NOTE. 

These  pages  seek  to  preserve  materials  which  would 
soon  have  been  beyond  reach — diaries,  letters,  the  remi- 
niscences of  pioneers.  It  will  be  a  satisfaction  if  any  one 
is  prompted  to  put  other  such  materials  into  a  safe  place. 

Several  years  since  I  had  occasion  to  make  inquiries 
about  the  ministers  who  laid  the  foundations  of  our  Indiana 
church.  The  study  took  me  into  an  unknown  land.  I 
was  surprised  at  every  step.  Courage,  self-sacrifice, 
piety,  were  to  be  expected  ;  but  I  found  besides  a  beau- 
tiful social  life,  uncommon  learning,  undoubted  genius  for 
affairs,  and  gifts  of  utterance  in  every  way  memorable. 

Such   fathers  leave   for  their   children   the   best   of  all 
legacies.     If  in  any  degree  I  may  have  helped  to  perpetu- 
ate  their   memory  and   light   up   their   example,    I    shall 
rejoice. 
Indianapolis,  May  i,  1898. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   I. 

Beginnings  and  Spread  of  Presbyteri anism  in 

America. 

Genius  of  the  Reformed  Churches — Wide  Extension  of  Pres- 
byterianism — EarHest  History  of  the  Church  in  America — 
Presbyterians  in  New  England,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  and  Virginia — Francis  Makemie,  Old  Han- 
over, and  William  Robinson — Samuel  Davies — David 
Rice — Transylvania  Presbytery 9 

CHAPTER  n. 
The  Settlement  of  Indiana. 
Discovery  of  the  Great  West — Spanish  and  French  Ex- 
plorers— La  Salle  and  the  Mississippi  Valley — First  White 
Man  on  Indiana  Soil — Vincennes  the  Earliest  Settlement 
— French  succeeded  by  English  Dominion — Northwestern 
Territory  —  Indiana  Territory  —  Character  of  Early 
Settlers — A  Large  Presbyterian  Element 20 

CHAPTER   III. 
The  First  Missionaries,     i 800-1 806. 

Volunteers  from  Kentucky — Samuel  Rannels — Samuel  B. 
Robertson— James  McGready^ames  Kemper — Thomas 
Cleland — Organization  of  First  Church — Samuel  Thorn- 
ton Scott  the  First  Settled  Minister 30 

CHAPTER    IV. 
Hindrances  and  Disorders  Incident  to  War. 

1807-1814. 

Palmyra  Church — James  H.  Dickey — Lawrenceburgh  — 
Samuel  Baldridge — Charlestown — Joseph  B.  Lapsley — 
Matthew  G.  Wallace— Tour  of  Samuel  J.  Mills— William 
Robinson  at  Madison 45 


Vl  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    V. 

The   War   Over  and  the  Work  Advanced.      1815. 

More  Missionaries — ^John  McElroy  Dickey — His  Great  Use- 
fulness— Close  of  the  Territorial  Period 61 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Aid  from  New  England.     1816,  18 17. 

McGready,  Cleland,  and  Lapsley  Again — Samuel  Shannon — 
First  New  England  Missionaries — Nathan  B.  Derrow — 
Clement  Hickman — William  Dickey — Daniel  C.  Banks- 
John  Todd  at  Charlestown — ^James  Balch 81 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

A  Notable  Quartet.    181 8. 

William  W.  Martin  at  Livonia — Isaac  Reed — Orin  Fowler 
from  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society — Ravaud  K. 
Rodgers  Commissioned  by  the  General  Assembly — 
Charles  Stebbins  Robinson  on   His  Way  to  Missouri    .    loi 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Better  Ecclesiastical  Supervision.     1819-1821. 

Lack  of  Settled  Pastors — David  Monfort — Thomas  C.  Searle 

— His  Brilliant  Promise  and  Early  Death 131 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Indianapolis.     1821. 

Seat  of  Government  Transferred  from  Corydon — First  Settle- 
ment and  First  Settlers  at  the  New  Capital — Coe,  Blake, 
Scudder,  Ray — First  Presbyterian  Sermon — Ludwell  G. 
Gaines — Church  Organization  Effected — David  Choate 
Proctor      138 

CHAPTER    X. 

Extension  Toward  the  North.      1822. 

Fort  Wayne— John  Ross — His  Unique  History — Ezra  H.  Day 
at  New  Albany— William  Goodell— Charles  C.  Beatty  .    .    148 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  Shadow  of  Slavery.      1823. 

Joseph  Trimble— The  Madison  Flock  again  without  a  Pastor 

—John  Finley  Crowe  at  Hanover— The  Slavery  Conflict  .    156 

CHAPTER   Xn. 

The   First   Presbytery.     1823,  1824. 

Salem  Presbytery  Organized— Its  Original  Members— First 
Records— Tilly  H.  Brown  the  First  Licentiate— John  T. 
Hamilton      • ^^^ 

CHAPTER  XHI. 

Help  from  Princeton.     1824. 

Samuel  Taylor  Commissioned  by  General  Assembly— George 
Bush  at  Indianapolis— Baynard  R.  Hall  in  the  State  Semi- 
nary at  Bloomington— Alexander  Williamson 169 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Two  Fellow-Travelers.     1824. 
John  Young's  Brief  Career— James  Harvey  Johnston  ....    192 

CHAPTER   XV. 

A  Period  of  Increased  Missionary  Zeal.     1825. 

Missions  at  Andover  Seminary— Union  of  Missionary  So- 
cieties—A. H.  M.  S.— Lucius  Alden— Lewis  McLeod- 
James  Stewart— Samuel  Gregg— William  Nesbit— Stephen 
Bliss  across  the  Wabash— Samuel  G.  Lowry  in  Decatur 
County 206 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Organization  of  the  Synod  of  Indiana.     1826. 

Condition  of  Indiana— Truman  Perrin— James  Crawford- 
Samuel  E.  Blackburn— James  Duncan— Isaac  A.  Ogden— 
Joseph  Robinson— Synod  Organized— First  Records- 
Calvin  Butler— Leander  Cobb— William  Lowry— William 
Henderson— James  Thomson 214 


Vl  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    V. 
The   War   Over  and  the  Work  Advanced.      1815. 

More  Missionaries — ^John  McElroy  Dickey — His  Great  Use- 
fulness— Close  of  the  Territorial  Period 61 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Aid  from  New  England.     1816,  1817. 

McGready,  Cleland,  and  Lapsley  Again — Samuel  Shannon — 
First  New  England  Missionaries — Nathan  B.  Derrow — 
Clement  Hickman— William  Dickey — Daniel  C.  Banks- 
John  Todd  at  Charlestown — James  Balch 81 

CHAPTER  Vn. 
A  Notable  Quartet.    1818. 

William  W.  Martin  at  Livonia — Isaac  Reed — Orin  Fowler 
from  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society — Ravaud  K. 
Rodgers  Commissioned  by  the  General  Assembly — 
Charles  Stebbins  Robinson  on   His  Way  to  Missouri    .    loi 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Better  Ecclesiastical  Supervision.     1819-1821. 

Lack  of  Settled  Pastors — David  Monfort — Thomas  C.  Searle 

— His  Brilliant  Promise  and  Early  Death 131 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Indianapolis.     1821. 

Seat  of  Government  Transferred  from  Corydon — First  Settle- 
ment and  First  Settlers  at  the  New  Capital — Coe,  Blake, 
Scudder,  Ray— First  Presbyterian  Sermon— Ludwell  G. 
Gaines — Church  Organization  Effected — David  Choate 
Proctor      138 

CHAPTER    X. 

Extension  Toward  the  North.      1822. 

Fort  Wayne— John  Ross— His  Unique  History— Ezra  H.  Day 
at  New  Albany— William  Goodell— Charles  C.  Beatty  .    .    148 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Shadow  of  Slavery.      1823. 

Joseph  Trimble— The  Madison  Flock  again  without  a  Pastor 

—John  Finley  Crowe  at  Hanover— The  Slavery  Conflict  .    156 

CHAPTER   Xn. 

The   First   Presbytery.     1823,  1824. 

Salem  Presbytery  Organized— Its  Original  Members— First 
Records— Tilly  H.  Brown  the  First  Licentiate— John  T. 
Hamilton      • ^^^ 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Help  from  Princeton.     1824. 

Samuel  Taylor  Commissioned  by  General  Assembly— George 
Bush  at  Indianapolis— Baynard  R.  Hall  in  the  State  Semi- 
nary at  Bloomington— Alexander  Williamson 169 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
Two  Fellow-Travelers.     1824. 

John  Young's  Brief  Career— James  Harvey  Johnston  ....    192 

CHAPTER   XV. 

A  Period  of  Increased  Missionary  Zeal.     1825. 

Missions  at  Andover  Seminary— Union  of  Missionary  So- 
cieties—A. H.  M.  S.— Lucius  Alden— Lewis  McLeod- 
James  Stewart— Samuel  Gregg— William  Nesbit— Stephen 
Bliss  across  the  Wabash— Samuel  G.  Lowry  in  Decatur 
County 206 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Organization  of  the  Synod  of  Indiana.     1826. 

Condition  of  Indiana— Truman  Perrin— James  Crawford- 
Samuel  E.  Blackburn— James  Duncan— Isaac  A.  Ogden— 
Joseph  Robinson— Synod  Organized— First  Records- 
Calvin  Butler— Leander  Cobb— William  Lowry— William 
Henderson— James  Thomson 214 


Vlll  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  , 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
Indiana   Presbyterians  and   Education. 

The  First  Schools — The  State  Seminary  and  College  at  Bloom- 
ington — Hanover  Academy  and  College — Indiana  Theo- 
logical Seminar}' — Wabash  College 228 

APPENDIX. 

I.     Missionary   Agencies   at  Work   in  Indiana  previous   to 

1826 255 

II.      Ecclesiastical  Relations  of  the    Indiana   Congregations 

previous  to  1826 258 

III.     Bibliography 260 


CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    THE    EARLY    HIS- 
TORY OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN 
CHURCH  IN  INDIANA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Beginnings   and   Spread   of    Presbyterianism   in 
America. 

**  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  "  is  a  command  suited  to  the 
genius  of  that  community  of  Christians  to  which  Presby- 
terians belong. 

Nothing  is  more  striking  in  a  general  view  of  the  history  of  the 
Reformed  Churches  than  the  variety  of  countries  into  which  we 
find  their  characteristic  spirit,  both  in  doctrine  and  polity,  pene- 
trating. Throughout  Switzerland  it  was  a  grand  popular  move- 
ment. There  is,  first  of  all,  Zwingle,  the  hero  of  Zurich,  already 
in  1516  preaching  against  the  idolatrous  veneration  of  Mary,  a 
man  of  generous  culture  and  intrepid  spirit,  who  at  last  laid  down 
his  life  upon  the  field  of  battle.  In  Basle  we  find  CEcolampadius, 
and  also  Bullinger,  the  chronicler  of  the  Swiss  reform.  Farel 
arouses  Geneva  to  iconoclasm  by  his  inspiring  eloquence. 
Thither  comes  in  1536,  from  the  France  which  disowned  him, 
Calvin,  the  mighty  law-giver,  great  as  a  preacher,  an  expositor,  a 
teacher,  and  a  ruler ;  cold  in  exterior,  but  burning  with  internal 
fire ;  who  produced  at  twenty-four  years  of  age  his  unmatched 
"Institutes,"  and  at  thirty-five  had  made  Geneva,  under  anal- 
most  theocratic  government,  the  model  city  of  Europe,  with  its 
inspiring  motto,  "Post  tenebras  lux."  He  was  feared  and  op- 
posed by  the  libertines  of  his  day,  as  he  is  in  our  own.  His  errors 
were  those  of  his  own  times  ;  his  greatness  is  of  all  times.  Hooker 
calls  him  "  incomparably  the  wisest  man  of  the  French  Church"  ; 
he  compares  him  to  the  "Master  of  Sentences,"  and  says  "that 
though  thousands  were  debtors  to  him  as  touching  divine  knowl- 
edge, yet  he  was  to  none,  only  to  God."      Montesquieu  declares 

9 


ro  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

that  "the  Genevese  should  ever  bless  the  day  of  his  birth." 
Jewel  terms  him  "a  reverend  father,  and  worthy  ornament  of  the 
church  of  God."  "  He  that  will  not  honor  the  memory  of  Cal- 
vin," says  Mr.  Bancroft,  "  knows  but  little  of  the  origin  of  Ameri- 
can liberty."  Under  his  influence  Geneva  became  the  "fertile 
seed-plot  "  of  reform  for  all  Europe  ;  with  Zurich  and  Strasbourg, 
it  was  the  refuge  of  the  oppressed  from  the  British  Isles,  and  thus 
indoctrinated  England  and  ourselves  with  its  own  spirit. 

The  same  form  of  faith  was  planted  in  the  German  Palatinate, 
modified  by  the  influence  of  Melanchthon,  receiving  an  admirable 
exposition  in  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  and  the  writings  ot 
Ursinus,  and  forming  the  German  Reformed  Church.  Holland 
accepted  the  same  sj-stem  of  faith  with  the  spirit  of  martyrdom  ; 
against  Charles  and  Philip,  against  Alba  and  the  Inquisition,  it 
fought  heroically,  under  the  Prince  of  Orange,  of  imperishable 
fame.  In  contending  for  freedom  in  religion  it  imbibed  the  love 
of  civil  freedom,  which  it  brought  also  to  our  shores  ;  and  though 
Guizot  does  not  once  name  Holland  in  his  "History  of  European 
Civilization,"  we  can  never  name  it  but  with  honor  and  gratitude  ; 
itself  oppressed,  it  became  the  refuge  of  the  oppressed.  In  Eng- 
land, God  overruled  the  selfish  policy  of  Henry  VIII.  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  gospel ;  the  persecution  of  Mary,  1553-8,  sent 
forth  the  best  of  England's  blood  to  Zurich  and  Geneva,  there  to 
imbibe  more  deeply  the  principles  of  the  Reform  and  to  bring 
back  the  seeds  of  Puritanism,  which  germinated  in  spite  of  the 
High  Court  of  Commission  and  the  Acts  of  Uniformity  of  1559  and 
subsequent  years.  The  universities  were  Calvinistic  in  their  most 
vigorous  period,  when  Bucer  and  Peter  Martyr  taught  in  them  a 
pure  faith.  "The  Reformation  in  England,"  says  the  Christian 
Remembrancer  (1845),  "ended  by  showing  itself  a  decidedly  Cal- 
vinistic movement."  "The  Reformation  produced  Calvinism; 
this  was  its  immediate  offspring,  its  genuine  matter-of-fact  expres- 
sion." And  need  I  speak  of  Scotland,  where  the  towering  form 
of  John  Knox,  also  taught  in  Geneva,  stands  out  severe  in  doc- 
trine and  morals,  in  vivid  contrast  with  the  loveliness  of  the  frail 
and  passionate  Mary?  Her  chivalry  could  not  stem  the  tide. 
Presbyterianism  prevailed,  never  to  lose  its  hold  of  the  Scotch 
nation.  Their  "fervid  genius"  was  well  pleased  wdth  this  strong 
theology.  Tenacity  like  that  of  the  Burghers  and  of  the  Anti- 
Burghers,  both  New  and  Old  Light,  and  the  indomitable  spirit  ot 
religious  independence  go  with  them  wherever  they  go.  The 
Free  Church  battles  in  the  nineteenth  century  for  the  principles  ot 


SPREAD    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    AMERICA.  II 

its  sires.  The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  reappear  in  our 
own  land,  transferred  from  religion  to  politics  in  the  Mecklenburg 
Declaration.^ 

Upon  the  earliest  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
America  a  degree  of  obscurity  rests.  The  few  feeble  con- 
gregations on  the  new  continent  were  scattered  over  an 
immense  breadth  of  territory.'  Probably  the  French 
Huguenots  were  the  earliest  Presbyterian  immigrants. 
These  came  under  the  auspices  of  Admiral  Coligny  to  the 
Carolinas  in  1562  and  to  Florida  in  1565.  They  were  not 
successful  however.  Alexander  Whitaker,  ' '  the  self- 
denying  apostle  of  Virginia,"^  writes  of  his  work  in  16 14. 
In  New  England  a  considerable  number  of  Puritan  Pres- 
byterians were  at  work  before  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Among  those  "inclined  to  Presbyterian 
views  of  church  government"  may  be  mentioned  Thomas 
Parker  and  James  Noyes,  of  Newbury,  Mass.,  John  Eliot, 
the  Apostle  to  the  Indians,  and  Peter  Hobart,  of  Hing- 
ham."  At  Southold,  L.  I.,  a  church  was  organized  October 
21,  1640,  by  John  Young,  and  not  much  later  Pierson, 
Doughty,  Fordham,  and  Denton  were  preaching  in  that 
neighborhood,  Doughty  being  the  first  Presbyterian  min- 
ister in  New  York  City  and  Denton  the  second.  The 
sufferings  in  Great  Britain  under  James  and  Charles  occa- 
sioned constant  accessions  to  the  Presbyterian  community 
in  America.  After  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  in  1650,  many 
Scottish  prisoners,  Cromwell's  Presbyterians,  were  shipped 
to  the  plantations  beyond  the  seas  to  be  sold.  Upon  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II.  there  was  a  voluntary  exodus 
from  the  persecuted  parishes  in  Scotland.      "  Robert  Liv- 

1  "  Address  before  the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society  at  St.  Louis,"  1855,  by  Dr. 
Henry  B,  Smith,  pp.  13-5. 

2  See  Sprague's  "Annals,"  Vol.  III.,  p.  xi. 

3  Bancroft's  "  History,"  1883  ed.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  104. 

4  Briggs's  "  American  Presbyterianism,"  p.  94.     For  a  good  resnmiol  the  earliest  his- 
tory see  Ency.  Brit.,  Art.  "  Presbyterianism." 


12  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ingston  came  to  New  York  in  1672  with  his  nephew.  He 
was  a  son  of  the  venerable  minister  of  Ancrum  who  was 
banished  to  Holland,  and  whose  name  is  linked  in  honora- 
ble remembrance  with  the  signal  refreshing  at  the  Kirk  of 
Shotts/'*  A  Presbyterian  settlement  near  Norfolk,  Va. , 
had  a  pastor  from  Ireland  who  died  in  1683.  Emigrants 
from  Scotland  and  the  north  of  Ireland  multiplied  in  East 
Jersey,  Del.,  along  the  York  and  Rappahannock  Rivers, 
and  in  Charleston,  S.  C. 

A  congregational  minister  of  London,  one  Henry  Jacob, 
had  removed  in  1624  to  Virginia,  where  he  died.  In  1642 
an  appeal  was  made  to  New  England  by  seventy-one  ' '  in- 
habitants of  the  county  of  the  Upper  Norfolk  in  Virginia" 
for  three  ministers  "  faithful  in  pureness  of  doctrine  and  in- 
tegrity of  life."  Knowles,  Thompson,  and  James,  who  re- 
sponded to  this  appeal,  were  successful  in  their  labors,  but 
were  silenced  by  the  Episcopal  authorities,  and  in  less  than 
a  year  returned  home.  Through  the  continued  intolerance 
of  the  government,  aided  by  a  plague  and  by  Indian  massa- 
cres, dissent  was  nearly  rooted  out  of  that  region.'^ 

The  duty  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the  colonies  had  been 
considered  in  Great  Britain  in  1641,  Mr.  Castell  of  Corten- 
hall  parish  devising  a  scheme  for  that  purpose  which  was 
approved  by  seventy  of  the  Westminster  divines.  The 
first  formal  application  to  the  British  churches  for  aid 
seems,  however,  to  have  been  a  letter  from  Colonel  Wil- 
liam Stevens.  It  was  laid  before  the  Irish  Presbytery  of 
Laggan  in  1680,  and  Makemie,  who  yielded  to  the  over- 
ture and  soon  after  migrated  to  America,  became  one  of 
the  most  useful  pioneers  of  the  church  in  this  country.  ^ 

1  Webster's  "  History,"  p.  66. 

2  Felt's  '•  Ecclesiastical  History,"  Vol  I.,  pp.  216,  471-7,  487,  496,  515,  526-7.  Vol. 
II.,  p.  7.     (Referred  to  by  Gillett,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  7-9.) 

3  "  It  is  a  fact  not  generally  known  that  in  the  year  1636,  soon  after  their  establish- 
ment in  Ulster,  some  of  these  emigrants  [the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians]  projected  a 
settlement  in  New  England.     In  the  month  of   September  of  that  year  the  Eaglewing 


SPREAD    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM    IX    AMERICA.  1 3 

Francis  Makemie,  a  native  of  county  Donegal,  Ire- 
land, a  student  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  ordained  by 
Laggan  Presbytery,  came  in  1683  to  "Maryland,  beside 
Virginia."  It  has  been  thought  that  he  first  labored  on 
the  western  shore  of  the  Chesapeake,*  as  his  name  does 
not  appear  until  1690  in  the  records  of  Accomac  County.^ 
Not  a  mark  of  his  pen  is  preserved  with  the  exception  of 
a  half-dozen  letters.'^  No  contemporary  sketch  of  his 
character  is  to  be  found.  But  he  was  evidently  not  only 
a  pious,  learned,  and  imposing  minister,  but  also  a  remark- 
ably resolute  and  persevering  man."*  Though  he  suffered 
imprisonment  in  New  York  for  venturing  to  preach  the 
gospel  there,  his  defense  of  himself  before  the  court  both 
won  respect  and  inspired  fear.  In  1704  he  returned  to 
Europe,  coming  back  the  year  after  with  two  more  Pres- 
byterian ministers,  Hampton  and  McNish.  It  is  probable 
that  Samuel  Davis  also  came  to  America  under  his  per- 
suasion ;  and  Nathaniel  Taylor,  another  of  the  pioneers, 
seems  to  have  been  connected  with  the  Makemie  family  by 
marriage.^     Only  two  of    the  seven^  original  members  of 

sailed  from  Loch  Fergus  for  the  Merrimac  River  with  one  hundred  and  forty  passengers, 
including  the  celebrated  preachers  Robert  Blair,  John  Livingston,  James  Hamilton, 
and  John  McClelland.  The  vessel  was  driven  back  by  stress  of  weather,  and  the  next 
year  these  ministers  returned  to  Scotland,  where  they  affiliated  with  the  still  more 
famous  Johnston  of  Warriston  and  Alexander  Henderson,  and  became  prominent  in  the 
commotions,  civil  and  religious,  which  led  to  the  subversion  of  the  English  throne  and 
the  execution  of  its  treacherous  occupant. 

"Two  thirds  of  a  century  later,  in  consequence  of  persecution  from  a  government 
which  in  some  sense  owed  its  existence  to  the  heroism  shown  at  the  terrible  siege  of 
Londonderry,  and  the  crowning  victory  of  the  Boyne,  the  emigration  from  Ulster  to 
this  country  began  in  earnest,  and  from  about  the  year  1720  swarm  followed  swarm  from 
the  great  hive,  some  of  the  emigrants  stopping  in  New  England  and  New  York,  but  the 
greater  part  passing  into  the  upper  regions  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  the  Carolinas." 
— A  writer  in  the  Neiv  York  Tribu/ie,  January  13,  1877. 

1  Hodge's  "  History,"  p.  66. 

2  "  This  is  the  record  of  a  suit  brought  by  him  to  recover  from  one  William  Finney  the 
amount  due  him  for  molasses  sold." — Foote's  "  Sketches  of  Virginia,"  first  series,  p.  43. 

3  Briggs's  "American  Presbyterianism,"  appendix. 

4  Hodge's  "  History,"  p.  76. 

5  Webster's  "  History,"  p.  318. 

6  Hodge  (p.  76),  omitting  the  name  of  John  Hampton,  makes  the  number  six. 


14  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  first  Presbytery'  could  have  been  influenced  by  him  in 
their  resolution  to  preach  the  gospel  in  America.  In  1708 
Makemie  died,^  leaving  for  his  family  a  considerable  estate. 
About  the  time  of  Makemie' s  decease  began  the  settle- 
ment of  that  portion  of  Virginia  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
and  it  is  interesting  to  observe  how  generally  the  promi- 
nent names  of  ' '  the  Valley ' '  reappear  in  the  later  annals 
of  the  church  upon  newer  ground.  Lyle,  Stuart,  Craw- 
ford, Campbell,  Moore,  Wallace,  Wilson,  Cummins,  Mc- 
Kee,  belong  not  more  to  the  ' '  Potomoke ' '  region  than  to 
Kentucky. 

An  austere,  thoughtful  race,  they  preferred  the  peaceful  pursuits 
of  agriculture  to  the  wild  license  of  the  hunter's  life  and  constituted 
a  manly  and  virtuous  yeomanry,  of  whom  Washington  is  reported 
to  have  said,  that  should  all  his  plans  be  crushed,  and  but  a  single 
standard  left  him,  he  would  plant  that  standard  on  the  Blue  Ridge, 
make  the  mountain  heights  his  barrier,  and  rallying  round  him  the 
noblest  patriots  of  the  Valley,  found,  under  better  auspices,  a  new 
republic  in  the  West.^ 

At  their  request,  in  1719,  "the  people  of  Potomoke," 
near  Martinsburgh,  were  supplied  with  a  minister  by  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia.  Immigration  to  that  region  was 
rapidly  increasing  and  several  congregations  maintained 
worship  without  interference  from  the  prelatical  authorities 
of  the  colony. 

Besides  the  counties  on  the  eastern  shore,  where  the 
blessing  of  Makemie' s  labors  remained,  and  the  settlements 
in  "the  Valley,"  there  were  also  remarkable  religious  de- 
velopments in  Hanover  and  the  counties  adjacent. 

The  established  clergy  were  many  of  them  notoriously  profligate 

1  It  is  a  familiar  fact  that  the  first  leaf  of  the  records  is  wanting.  But  the  organization 
occurred  in  1705  or  1706. 

-  "  Spence's  '  Letters  '  contain  much  information  relating  to  Mr.  Makemie.  In 
Smith's  '  History  of  New  York  '  may  be  found  an  instructive  account  of  his  imprison- 
ment and  trial;  and  the  most  interesting  portion  of  Dr.  Hill's  '  Sketches'  relate  to  his 
character  and  labors." — Hodge,  p.  76,  foot-note. 

3  Davidson's  "Kentucky,"  p.  21. 


SPREAD    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    AMERICA.  15 

in  their  lives,  and  very  few  among  them  preached,  or  appeared  to 
understand,  the  gospel  of  Christ.  It  was  under  these  circum- 
stances that  some  pious  books,  or  fragments  of  books,  which  fell 
into  the  hands  of  a  few  individuals,  were  made  the  means  of  awak- 
ening them  to  a  concern  for  their  eternal  interest,  and  of  commen- 
cing a  work  of  grace  which  was  afterward  most  powerfully  and 
happily  extended. ^ 

A  few  leaves  of  Boston's  "Fourfold  State,"  which  had 
belonged  to  a  good  Scotchwoman,  came  into  the  possession 
of  a  wealthy  planter,  awakened  his  mind,  and  brought  him 
to  the  truth.  Another  prominent  citizen  of  Hanover,  Mr. 
Samuel  Morris,  about  the  same  time  got  hold  of  "  Luther 
on  the  Galatians,"  and  was  deeply  affected  by  it.  In  the 
spirit  of  genuine  piety  he  at  once  became  interested  in  his 
neighbors,  and  invited  them  to  his  house  that  they  might 
together  engage  in  the  reading  of  religious  books.  Thus 
was  established  the  famous  "Morris'  Reading  House." 
The  large  number  of  people  there  frequently  assembled  soon 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  government,  but  Mr.  Morris  and 
his  friends  declaring  themselves  "Lutherans"  for  a  tim.e 
escaped  further  annoyance. 

It  was  now  that  William  Robinson,  son  of  an  English 
Quaker,  and  a  member  of  New  Brunswick  Presbytery,  was 
making  his  memorable  preaching  tour  through  some  of  the 
remote  counties  of  Virginia.  A  singular  power  accom- 
panied him.  Many  conversions  occurred.  It  happened 
that  these  results  were  witnessed  by  some  of  the  young 
people  of  the  "  Reading- House  "  assemblies,  and  their 
report  of  the  matter  on  their  return  home  so  interested 
these  inquiring  Dissenters  that  they  despatched  messengers 
to  prevail  with  Mr.  Robinson  to  visit  them.  On  the  6th 
of  July,  1743,  he  preached  the  first  Presbyterian  sermon 
heard  in  that  region,  and  the  interest  it  kindled  rapidly 
increased  during  the  four  days  he  remained  with  them. 
' '  There  is  reason  to  believe, ' '  wrote  Mr.  Morris  himself, 

1  Miller's  "  Life  of  Rodgers,"  p.  32. 


l6  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

''there  was  as  much  good  done  by  these  four  sermons  as 
by  all  the  sermons  preached  in  these  parts  before  or 
since.'"  "Upon  Robinson's  departure  the  people  secretly 
conveyed  into  his  saddle-bags,  as  a  mark  of  their  grati- 
tude, a  considerable  sum  of  money,  which  he  had  before 
refused. 

Discovering  the  benevolent  artifice  he  no  longer  declined 
receiving  the  money,  but  informed  his  kind  friends  that  he  would 
appropriate  it  to  the  use  of  a  young  man  of  his  acquaintance  who 
was  studying  for  the  ministry,  but  embarrassed  in  his  circum- 
stances. "As  soon  as  he  is  hcensed,"  he  added,  "  we  will  send 
him  to  visit  you  ;  it  may  be  that  you  may  now,  by  your  liberality, 
be  educating  a  minister  for  yourselves.  "^ 

Samuel  Davies  was  the  young  student  referred  to,  and 
thus  occurs  another  distinguished  name  directly  in  that 
course  of  providence  which,  sixty  years  later,  was  to  carry 
the  gospel  to  the  Indiana  wilderness. 

Samuel  Davies,  of  Welsh  parentage,  was  born  in  New- 
casde  County,  Del.,  November  3,  1723,  and  seems  to 
have  been  converted  under  the  preaching  of  Gilbert  Ten- 
nent.  After  his  licensure,  though  affected  with  a  threaten- 
ing pulmonary  disease,  he  went  down  to  the  eastern  shore 
of  Maryland,  where,  for  two  months,  he  preached  by  day, 
though  delirious  with  fever  at  night.  In  the  spring  of 
1747  he  was  sent,  by  Newcastle  Presbytery,  to  Hanover, 
in  Virginia,  where  ' '  the  people  received  him  as  an  angel  of 
God  and  earnestly  urged  him  to  settle  among  them." 
The  following  year  he  accepted  the  call,  obtained  from  the 
General  Court  at  Williamsburg  permission  to  preach  in  the 
colony,  and  entered  upon  the  work  which  was  soon  to 
secure,  in  1755,  the  organization  of  Hanover  Presbytery.^ 

1  Gillies's  "  Historical  Collections,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  330. 

2  Gillett's  "  History,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  114,  115. 

3  Besides  William  Robinson,  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  John  Roan,  the  Blairs,  and 
the  Tennents  had  also  preached  the  gospel  in  Virginia,  assisting  in  laying  "  the  founda- 
tion on  which  Davies  builded."     Foote's  "  Sketches  of  Virginia,"  first  series,  p.  146. 


SPREAD    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    AMERICA.  1 7 

Though  Davies  afterward  became  a  notable  president  of 
Princeton  College  and  a  preacher  admired  no  less  in  Great 
Britain  than  at  home,  it  is  to  be  doubted  whether  anything 
he  ever  accomplished  was  more  serviceable  to  Christ's 
kingdom  than  the  modest  beginnings  in  Virginia. 

In  1750  Davies  prevailed  upon  John  Todd  to  come  to 
his  assistance.  Settling  in  Louisa  County,  contiguous  to 
Hanover,  Todd  soon  opened  a  classical  and  theological 
school.  In  this  academy  James  Waddell,  Wirt's  "blind 
preacher,"  became  first  a  pupil  and  afterward  an  assistant 
instructor.  It  was  here  also  that  David  Rice,  a  young 
man  of  Todd's  congregation,  received  the  inspiration  and 
training  which  fitted  him  for  his  subsequent  commanding 
position  on  the  frontier,  now  to  be  moved  westward  to  the 
hunting  grounds  of  Daniel  Boone,  and  to  the  very  borders 
of  the  Indiana  history. 

The  year  1783  opened  with  a  prospect  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain,  and  of  comparative  quiet  from  savages  ;  while  the  abun- 
dance of  the  products  of  the  soil  promised  to  reward  the  labors  of 
the  husbandmen.  New  settlers  poured  [into  Kentucky]  by  thou- 
sands, and  the  forest  and  the  cane-brake  rapidly  disappeared 
beneath  the  axe  and  the  plough.  Among  those  who  were 
attracted  to  this  land  of  promise,  flowing,  as  was  represented, 
with  milk  and  honey,  was  the  Rev.  David  Rice,  at  that  time  pas- 
tor of  a  congregation  at  the  Peaks  of  Otter.  He  came,  not  with 
the  intention  of  becoming  a  resident,  but  solely  with  a  view  to 
make  some  provision  for  his  numerous  and  dependent  family  ;  but, 
being  disgusted  with  the  shameless  spirit  of  speculation  which  was 
then  rife,  he  returned  without  purchasing  an  acre.  In  vain  were 
the  broad  rich  lands  of  Kentucky  spread  in  unrivaled  beauty  before 
him  ;  in  vain  did  the  cheapness  of  the  price  tempt  him  ;  he  valued 
his  peace  of  mind  too  much  to  suspend  it  on  the  doubtful  risks  of 
inevitable  litigation. 

During  his  stay  Mr.  Rice  preached  as  opportunity  offered,  and 
his  appearance  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  Presbyterian  settlers, 
some  of  whom  had  known  him  personally  and  all  by  reputation. 
They  had  learned  by  their  long  destitution  and  silent  Sabbaths  to 
appreciate  the  value  of  the  stated  ministry ;  and,  like  David  in  his 


l8  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

exile,  memory  lingered  with  fond  regret  upon  the  lost  pleasures 
of  the  sanctuary  and  the  voice  of  joy  and  praise.  Mr.  Rice  was 
warmly  pressed  to  give  them  the  benefit  of  his  pastoral  services  ; 
but  he  hesitated  to  take  so  important  a  step  on  a  mere  verbal 
invitation.  He  promised,  however,  that  if  a  written  invitation 
were  drawn  up,  signed  by  such  only  as  were  permanent  settlers 
and  really  desirous  of  constituting  themselves  into  a  church,  he 
would  take  it  into  consideration.  .  ,  He  removed  to  Kentucky 
in  October ;  but  owing  to  the  impassable  state  of  the  roads,  he 
was  unable  to  travel,  during  the  winter,  beyond  the  neighborhood 
of  Danville,  and  preached  in  private  houses  as  he  was  invited. 
.  .  On  the  opening  of  spring  (1784)  Mr.  Rice  extended  the 
sphere  of  his  labors,  and  gathered  three  large  congregations  near 
Harrod's  Station  as  a  central  point,  Danville,  Cane  Run,  and  the 
Salt  River  settlement.  Houses  of  worship  were  put  up  without 
delay,  and  the  year  following  churches  were  regularly  organized 
in  them  all.^ 

David  Rice,  the  father  of  Kentucky  Presbyterianism, 
born  in  Hanover  County,  Va.,  December  20,  1733,  ordained 
by  Hanover  Presbytery  December,  1763,  first  taking- 
charge  of  three  congregations  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
but  finally  confining  his  labors  to  the  one  at  the  Peaks  of 
Otter,  reached  Kentucky  in  1783.^  For  fifteen  years  Dan- 
ville was  his  home.  His  later  life  was  spent  in  Green 
County,  where  he  fell  asleep,  June  18,  18 16,  in  the  eighty- 
third  year  of  his  age.  ^ 

As  Makemie  had  drawn  from  the  old  country  reenforce- 
ments  to  form  the  first  Presbytery,  and  as  Davies  had 
assembled  about  him  the  little  band  that  constituted  ' '  old 
Hanover,"  so  did  David  Rice  attract  from  Virginia  a  nota- 
ble company  of  ministers.  Adam  Rankin  came  from 
Augusta  County  in  1784,  and  James  Crawford  arrived  the 
same  year.  Terah  Templin,  ordained  in  1785,  though  he 
had    reached    Kentucky  three   or   four  years   earlier,   had 

1  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  pp.  64-6. 

2  Bishop's  "  Memoir  of  Rice,"  pp.  13-64.      This  rare  old  book  contains  the  only  con- 
temporary accounts  of  several  other  Kentucky  pioneers. 

3  A  suitable   monument   to  Rice  was  erected,   1892,  by  Kentucky  Presbyterians  in 
McDowell  Park,  Danville. 


SPREAD    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    AMERICA.  I9 

been  a  member  of  Father  Rice's  congregation  at  the  Peaks 
of  Otter.  Thomas  Craighead  and  Andrew  McClure 
reenforced  the  strugghng  missionaries  in  1786. 

On  the  17th  of  October  of  that  year,  according  to  the 
direction  of  Synod,  the  Presbytery  of  Transylvania  was 
organized.  ^ 

Tuesday,  October  17,  1786.  The  Rev.  David  Rice,  Adam  Ran- 
kin, Andrew  McClure,  and  James  Crawford  met  in  the  Court 
House  at  Danville,  on  the  day  and  year  above  written,  by  an 
appointment  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  ;  which 
appointment  Mr.  Rice  read  from  the  extract  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  Synod,  dated  May  17th,  1786,  the  substance  of  which  is  as 
follows :  The  Synod  divided  Abingdon  Presbytery  into  two  Pres- 
byteries, the  one  by  the  name  of  the  Presbytery  of  Abingdon,  the 
other  by  the  name  of  the  Presbytery  of  Transylvania,  compre- 
hending the  district  of  Kentucky  from  the  settlements  upon  Cum- 
berland Riv-er,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  David  Rice,  Thomas  Craig- 
head, Adam  Rankin,  Andrew  McClure,  James  Crawford,  and 
appointed  the  Presbytery  of  Transylvania  to  meet  at  Danville,  in 
the  district  of  Kentucke  (sic),  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  October, 
1786,  the  Rev.  David  Rice  to  be  moderator  or  in  his  absence  the 
senior  minister  present.  Ubi  post  preces  sederunt  qui  supra, 
except  Rev.  Thomas  Craighead.^ 

Craighead's  distant  settlement  was  the  occasion  of  his 
frequent  absence.  It  will  be  observed  that  all  the  original 
members  of  the  new  Presbytery  were  from  Virginia. 

Thus,  from  Scotland's  sufferings  under  Charles,  and 
from  Scotland's  scattered  sons,  through  Makemie,  a  pio- 
neer of  the  American  Presbyterian  Church,  through 
Samuel  Davies  of  Hanover  and  Princeton,  and  through 
David  Rice,  Davies' s  son  in  the  gospel  and  the  founder  of 
the  Kentucky  Church,  is  to  be  traced  the  establishment  of 
Transylvania  Presbytery,  which  Indiana  Presbyterians  ven- 
erate as  the  mother  of  us  all. 

1  This  "  backwoods  "  Presbytery  had  verymdefinite  boundaries.  Besides  Kentucky, 
Indiana,  and  the  settlements  on  the  Cumberland  River  in  what  is  now  the  state  of  Tenn- 
essee, it  also  subsequently  included  the  churches  along  the  Miami  in  Ohio.  "  It  had  no 
definite  limits  in  a  southern  direction." 

2  "  Minutes  Transylvania  Presbyter}',"  V'ol.  I.,  p.  i. 


CHAPTER    11. 

The    Settlement   of   Indiana. 

Not  until  nearly  two  hundred  years  after  the  discovery 
of  America  by  Columbus,  and  fully  half  a  century  later 
than  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  from  the  Mayflower,  is  it 
probable  that  the  first  white  man  touched  the  present 
boundary  of  Indiana.  As  early  as  June,  1541,  De  Soto 
had  reached  the  Mississippi  with  his  Spanish  explorers,  but 
no  other  Europeans  appear  to  have  looked  upon  the 
Father  of  Waters  until  1673,'  when  Marquette  descended 
the  river  nearly  to  the  Gulf.  During  the  years  1665-73 
another  French  Jesuit  was  engaged  in  exploring  the  Lake 
Superior  region  and  the  territory  near  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Lake  Michigan,^  in  which  labors  he  was  most  of 
the  time  assisted  by  Marquette  and  Claude  Dablon.  They 
must  have  found  the  portage  from  the  St.  Joseph  to  the 
Kankakee.^  There  is  an  Indian  tradition  that  Catholic 
missionaries  were  at   Kekionga  (Fort  Wayne)  about  this 

1  Cf.  Parkman's  "  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,"  introduction,  p.  xx. 

2  "  In  the  year  1665  the  resolute  ardor  of  Father  Allouez,  a  Jesuit  missionary, 
prompted  him  to  undertake  the  hazardous  experiment  of  executing  his  mission  in  these 
remote  and  unknown  countries.  Arrived  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary  he  threw  himself 
boldly  among  the  savages,  reh'ing  on  his  powers  of  persuasion  to  win  their  confidence, 
and  the  purity  of  his  motives  to  secure  success.  His  hopes  were  not  disappointed.  He 
visited  the  tribes  on  the  southern  borders  of  Lake  Superior  and  was  everywhere  re- 
ceived with  kindness.  Three  years  afterward  he  was  joined  by  Marquette  and  Dablon, 
and  during  the  five  succeeding  years  these  courageous  missionaries  explored  the  terri- 
tory between  Lake  Superior  and  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  Michigan,  fulfilling 
their  vocation  as  messengers  of  Christianity  with  a  devotedness  and  self-sacrifice  rarely 
surpassed,  preaching  to  numerous  tribes  and  subduing  their  wild  hearts  by  gentleness  of 
manners  and  by  inculcating  the  mild  precepts  of  the  gospel.  They  likewise  established 
the  posts  01  Macinac,  St.  Mary's,  and  Green  Bay,  which  soon  became  the  first  rallying 
points  of  civilization  on  the  upper  lakes." — Sparks's  "  La  Salle,"  p.  2. 

3  They  "  probably  visited  that  part  of  Indiana  which  lies  north  of  the  river  Kanka- 
kee."'— Dillon's  "  History,"  p.  2. 

20 


THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    INDIANA.  21 

time.'  In  December,  1679,  La  Salle  went  down  the  Kan- 
kakee from  its  mouth, '^  and  his  own  report  to  the  governor- 
general  of  Canada  leaves  no  doubt  that  on  his  perilous  re- 
turn in  the  following  year  he  passed  through  Fort  Wayne. 
It  was  in  1682  that  La  Salle,  passing  down  the  Illinois  into 
the  Mississippi,  discovered  the  mouth  of  that  river  on  the 
9th  of  April,  and  in  the  name  of  Louis  XIV.  took  posses- 
sion of  the  country.-^  The  survivors  of  La  Salle's  second 
and  fatal  expedition,  on  the  19th  of  August,  1687,  a  few 
months  after  their  leader's  assassination,  "came  to  the 
Mouth  of  the  River  call'd  Houabache,  said  to  come  from 
the  country  of  the  Iroquois,  toward  New  England." 
"That  is  a  very  fine  River,"  proceeds  the  description, 
"  its  Water  extraordinary  clear,  and  the  Current  of  it  gen- 
tle. Our  Indians  offer' d  up  to  it,  by  way  of  Sacrifice,  some 
Tobacco  and  Beef  Steaks,  which  they  fixed  on  Forks,  and 
left  them  on  the  Bank,  to  be  disposed  of  as  the  River 
thought  fit." ^     The  Hotcabache  was   no   doubt  the  Ohio, 

1  "England  permitted  the  French  to  establish  their  influence  along  the  banks  of  the 
Allegany  to  the  Ohio.  They  had  already  quietly  possessed  themselves  of  the  three 
other  great  avenues  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi ;  for  the  route  by  way  of 
the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  they  had  no  opponents  but  in  the  Sacs  and  Foxes ;  that  by  way 
of  Chicago  had  been  safely  pursued  since  the  days  of  Marquette  ;  and  a  report  on  Indian 
affairs,  written  by  Logan  in  1718,  proves  that  they  very  early  made  use  of  the  Miami  of 
the  lakes,  and  after  crossing  the  carrying-place  of  about  three  leagues,  floated  down  the 
shallow  branch  into  the  Wabash  and  the  Ohio."— Bancroft's  "  History,"  Centenary 
Edition,  Vol.  II.,  p.  481. 

2  Sparks's  "La  Salle,"  pp.  45,  46.  "On  the  3d  of  December  the  party reembarked, 
thirty-three  in  all,  in  eight  canoes,  and  ascended  the  chill  current  of  the  St.  Joseph, 
bordered  with  dreary  meadows  and  bare  gray  forests.  When  they  approached  the  site 
of  the  present  village  of  South  Bend  they  looked  anxiously  along  the  shore  on  their 
right  to  find  the  portage  or  path  leading  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Illinois."— Parkman's 
"  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,"  p.  151. 

3  Father  Hennepin,  in  his  "Description  de  la  Louisiane,"  gives  an  account  of  this 
tour-,  but  according  to  Joutel  (p.  185)  "the  Truth  of  his  Relations  is  much  contro- 
verted," and  according  to  Bancroft  (Vol.  II.,  p.  366)  he  is  "a  boastful  liar."  See 
Charlevoix's  "  New  France,"  Sparks's  "  La  Salle,"  and  Parkman's  "  Discovery  of  the 
Great  West,"  for  authentic  details. 

4  "  A  Journal  of  the  Last  Voyage  Performed  by  Monsr.  de  la  Sale,  to  the  Gulph  of 
Mexico,  to  find  out  the  Mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River."  Written  in  French  by  Mon- 
sieur Joutel,  a  commander  in  that  expedition,  and  translated  from  the  edition  just 
published  at  Paris.  London,  1714,  p.  163.  (The  original  French  edition  appeared  in 
Paris  the  previous  year.) 


2  2  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

but  Monsieur  Joutel's  narrative  is  accompanied  by  a  map 
which  with  tolerable  accuracy  suggests  the  course  of  a 
tributary  of  that  stream,  the  present  river  Wabash,  which 
now  at  last  was  known  to  French  explorers. ' 

The  possession  of  the  vast  territory  thus  acquired  by 
France  was  for  many  years  only  nominal.  Early  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  however,  the  ambitious  scheme  was 
accomplished  of  connecting  the  French  settlements  in  Can- 
ada with  the  northern  lakes,  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  Gulf,  by  a  line  of  military  and  trading-posts  and 
Jesuit  mission  stations.  It  was  this  design  that  led  to  the 
first  actual  occupancy  of  Indiana  by  Europeans,  a  fort 
having  been  located  on  the  Wabash  in  1710^  by  Captain 
Morgan  de  Vincennes  at  the  point  which  has  since  borne 
his  name.  Subsequently  settlements  were  made  by  the 
French  at  Fort  Ouiatenon  (La  Fayette)  and  at  the 
Twightwee  village  (Fort  Wayne),  near  the  junction  of  the 
St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary  Rivers.^ 

The  war  which  deprived  the  French  of  their  possessions 
in  Canada  also  secured  to  Great  Britain  the  "  country  of 
the  lUinois,"''  and'  the  posts  on  the  Wabash  were  occupied 
by  the  latter  power.     The  English  dominion  was  soon  dis- 

1  Joutel's  description  of  the  region  near  the  mouth  of  the  HouabacJie  might  certainly 
have  been  written  for  the  Wabash  country.  "The  country  about  was  full  of  Hillocks," 
he  says,  "  cover'd  with  Oaks  and  Wallnut-Trees,  Abundance  of  Plum  Trees,  almost  all 
the  Plums  red  and  pretty  good,  besides  great  Store  of  other  Sorts  of  Fruits,  whose 
Names  we  know  not,  and  among  them  one  shap'd  like  a  middling  Pear,  with  Stones  in 
it  as  big  as  large  Beans.  When  ripe  it  peels  like  a  Peach,  the  Taste  is  indifferent  good, 
but  rather  of  the  Sweetest." — "  Journal  of  La  Sale's  Last  Voyage,"  p.  164. 

2  This  is  the  date  fixed  by  Judge  Law  (  "  Colonial  History  of  Vincennes,"  p.  12),  who 
finds  a  reference  to  "the  Post,"  as  already  estabUshed,  in  a  letter  written  by  Father 
Marest,  from  Kaskaskias,  November  9,  1712.  (See  "  Lettres  edifiant  et  curieuse,"  p. 
333-)  Volney,  who  was  at  the  Post  in  1796  and  fixed  upon  1735  as  the  year  of  its  estab- 
lishment, seems  to  have  given  the  date  of  a  subsequent  arrival  of  French  emigrants 
there.  (Cf.  Volney's  "  View  of  the  CUmate  and  Soil  of  the  United  States,"  London, 
1804,  p.  373.) 

3  Not  more  than  three  or  four  hundred  whites  were  settled  within  the  present  Umits  of 
Indiana  when  the  French  domination  ceased.     Cf.  Dillon,  p.  84. 

4  Treaty  of  Paris,  February  10,  1763. 


THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    INDIANA.  23 

turbed,  however,  by  the  colonial  struggle  for  independ- 
ence, and  in  the  expedition  of  1779  under  the  gallant 
Virginian,  General  George  Rogers  Clark,  it  was  finally 
terminated.  Post  Vincennes  was  surrendered  by  Hamilton 
on  the  24th  of  February.  Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  rev- 
olutionary contest  the  country  northwest  of  the  Ohio,^ 
which  since  Clark's  conquest  of  it  had  been  nominally 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  Virginia,  was,  by  a  formal  deed  of 
cession,  transferred'  to  the  United  States.  By  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1787  the  Northwestern  Territory  was  organized, 
including  what  now  comprises  the  states  of  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  much  of  Ohio.^  From 
this  vast  tract  Ohio  was  set  of!  as  a  distinct  territory  May 
7,  1800,  when  the  residue  of  the  original  Northwestern 
Territory  became  the  territory  of  Indiana,  with  William 
Henry  Harrison  as  its  first  governor.  In  1805  Michigan 
was  erected  into  a  separate  territory,  and  in  1809  Illinois 
was  placed  under  its  own  government,  leaving  Indiana 
with  its  present  limits.  The  state  was  constituted  Decem- 
ber II,  1816. 

Though  the  authority  of  the  United  States  had  been 
extended  over  the  region  northwest  of  the  Ohio  by  the 
Ordinance  of  1787,  the  Indians  for  years  afterward  re- 
mained substantially  in  possession  of  the  country.  St. 
Clair's  expedition  against  the  savages  reached  its  disas- 
trous termination  in   1791.      The  frontier  was  in  a  state  of 

1  It  is  startling  to  observe  how  narrowly  the  United  States  escaped  the  loss  of  the 
whole  Northwestern  Territory,  when  negotiating  the  treaty  of  1782.  "  Great  Britain 
insisted  on  making  the  Ohio  River  a  boundary  of  the  United  States.  .  .  The  perti- 
nacity with  which  the  claim  was  insisted  on  induced  Dr.  Franklin  to  suggest  to  his  col- 
leagues, Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Jay,  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  yield  that  point 
than  to  fail  in  the  main  object,  it  being  understood  that  the  French  government  was 
favorable  to  the  claim.  Mr.  Adams  very  promptly  answered.  No.  .  .  Mr.  Jay  was 
equally  determined  and  Dr.  FrankUn  concurred."  See  Burnet's  "  Notes  on  the  North- 
western Territory,"'  p.  315,  foot-note.     Cf.  Law's  "  Vincennes,"  p.  131. 

2  March  i,  1784. 

3  Major-General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  first  governor  of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  was 
appointed  by  Congress  October  5.  1787. 


24  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

constant  alarm  until  "Mad  Anthony"  Wayne's  decisive 
victory  of  August  15,  1794,  and  his  treaty  with  the  Indians 
at  Greenville,  August  3,  1795.  Thereafter,  as  confidence 
increased,  settlers  began  to  venture  toward  the  rich  bottom 
lands  along  the  Wabash.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
as  late  as  October  3,  1818,  when  by  the  treaty  at  St. 
Mary's  the  territory  was  yielded  to  the  United  States  by 
the  Delawares,  Miamis,  and  Pottawottamies,  the  red  men 
had  still  claimed  the  greater  part  of  Indiana  as  their  own. 
Even  then  they  expressly  reserved  the  right  of  occupying 
their  former  hunting  grounds  for  three  years  longer.^  It 
was  not  until  a  much  more  recent  period  that  they  entirely 
withdrew  from  the  forests  whose  abundant  game  fed  their 
hunger  and  whose  thick  shadows  concealed  their  crimes.^ 
Transient  fur-traders  knew  the  region  well  and  had  been 
drawing  immense  profit  from  it  for  nearly  a  century  before 
the  quiet  pursuit  of  agriculture  was  possible.^  It  was  not 
to  be  expected  that  the  most  enticing  reports  of  the  fertility 
of  Indiana's  soil  would  be  able  to  attract  any  large  number 

1  "  The  Indians  settled  on  White  River,  about  twelve  miles  above  Indianapolis,  be- 
tween the  years  i/goand  1795,  andbuilt  several  towns  a  short  distance  above  that.  There 
now  lives  twelve  miles  above  here  a  white  woman  who  was  with  them  when  they  first 
settled  there,  having  been  taken  prisoner  when  Morgan's  Station  was  overpowered,  and 
all  those  who  were  in  it  either  slaughtered  or  captured.  She  was  nine  years  old  when 
taken,  and  has  lived  among  the  Indians  ever  since,  until  the  late  purchase  made  by  the 
United  States  brought  the  white  people  into  the  neighborhood." — hidianapolis  Gazette, 
June  II,  1823. 

2  "  One  cold  cloudy  day  in  January,  1831,  setting  out  to  ride  ten  miles  in  the  wilder- 
ness to  acquaint  a  family  with  the  appointment  to  form  a  church,  I  mistook  the  trail  of 
an  Indian  hunting  party,  which  led  me  to  their  encampment.  Retracing  my  way  by 
night  I  became  bewildered  in  the  woods  and  snow,  and  sat  down  by  a  burning  log  till 
morning,  and  at  noon,  twenty-four  hours  after  leaving,  emerged  at  Logansport." — 
"  Retrospect  after  Thirty  Years"  .Ministry  at  Logansport,"  by  the  Rev.  Martin  M.  Post, 
D.  D.,  p.  II. 

3  "  The  Miami  villages,  which  stood  at  the  head  of  the  river  Maumee,  the  Wea 
villages,  which  were  situated  about  (^uiatneon  on  the  Wabash  River,  and  the  Pianke- 
shaw  villages,  which  stood  on  and  about  the  site  of  Vincennes,  were,  it  seems,  regarded 
by  the  early  French  fur-traders  as  suitable  places  for  the  establishing  of  trading-posts. 
It  is  probable  that  before  the  close  of  the  year  17 19,  temporary  trading-posts  were  erected 
at  the  sites  of  Fort  Wayne,  Ouiatneon,  and  Vincennes.  These  points  had,  it  is  be- 
lieved, been  often  visited  by  traders  before  the  year  1700."— Dillon,  p.  54. 


THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    INDIANA.  25 

of  immigrants  with  their  families  to  the  haunts  of  savages/ 
In  1800  the  white  population  of  the  territory,  which  still 
included  Illinois  and  Michigan,  was  only  four  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  seventy-five.  Eight  years  afterward, 
within  the  present  boundaries  of  Indiana,  there  were  only 
about  seventeen  thousand  inhabitants,  a  number  which 
had  increased  to  about  sixty-four  thousand  when  in  1816 
the  territory  became  a  state. 

Of  the  character  of  the  original  population  of  Indiana 
Volney  gives  a  striking  and  evidently  correct  representa- 
tion. He  reached  Vincennes  on  the  2d  of  August,  1796. 
He  says  : 

The  day  after  my  arrival  there,  was  a  sitting  of  the  judges  of  the 
district,  to  which  I  repaired  to  make  my  observations  on  the  nat- 
ural and  moral  state  of  the  inhabitants  collectively.  As  soon  as  I 
entered  I  was  struck  at  seeing  the  audience  divided  into  two  races 
of  men,  totally  different  in  feature  and  in  person.  One  had  a  fair 
or  light  brown  hair,  ruddy  complexions,  full  faces,  and  a  plump- 
ness of  body  that  announced  health  and  ease  ;  the  other,  very 
meager  countenances,  a  sallow  tawny  skin,  and  the  whole  body  as 
if  emaciated  with  fasting,  not  to  speak  of  their  clothes,  which  suf- 
ficiently denoted  their  poverty.  I  presently  discovered  that  the 
latter  were  the  French  settlers,  who  had  been  about  sixty  years  in 
the  place  ;  while  the  former  were  Americans,  who  cultivated  the 
land  they  had  bought  only  five  or  six  years  before.  The  French, 
three  or  four  excepted,  knew  nothing  of  English,  and  almost  all 
the  Americans  were  nearly  as  ignorant  of  French,  but  as  I  had 
learned  English  enough  in  the  course  of  a  year  to  converse  with 
them  I  had  the  advantage  during  my  stay  of  hearing  the  stories 
of  both  parties.- 

Still  further  to  diversify  this  scene  there  were  no  doubt 
occasional  representatives  of  Spain  and  Germany,  and 
sometimes  the  Indians,  taking  possession  of  the  little  town, 

1  For  a  trustworthy  and  minute  account  of  the  perils  of  pioneer  life  see  "Reminis- 
cences of  Col.  John  Ketcham,"  by  the  Rev.  T.  M.  Hopkins,  Bloomington,  1866.  For 
abstract  of  treaties  by  which  Indian  rights  to  lands  lying  within  the  present  limits  of 
Indiana  have  been  extinguished  see  Dillon,  p.  578. 

2  "  CUmate  and  Soil  of  the  United  States,"  pp.  369,  370. 


26  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

made  it  as  bizarre  and  miscellaneous  as  Cairo  or  Jerusalem. 
Volney  adds  : 

My  stay  at  Fort  Vincents  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  observing 
the  savages,  whom  I  found  assembled  to  sell  the  produce  of  their 
red  hunt.  There  were  reckoned  to  be  four  or  five  hundred  men, 
women,  and  children,  of  various  nations  or  tribes,  as  the  Weeaws, 
Payouries,  Saukies,  Pyankishavvs,  Miamis,  etc.,  all  living  toward 
the  head  of  the  Wabash.  It  was  the  first  time  of  my  observing 
at  leisure  these  people,  already  become  rare  on  the  east  of  the 
Alleghanies.  Their  appearance  was  to  me  a  new  and  whimsical 
sight.  Conceive  bodies  almost  naked,  embrowned  by  exposure 
to  the  sun  and  air,  shining  with  grease  and  soot ;  a  head  uncovered, 
hair  coarse,  black,  sleek,  straight,  and  smooth  ;  a  face  disguised 
with  black,  blue,  and  red  paint,  in  round,  square,  and  rhomboidal 
patches  ;  one  nostril  bored  to  admit  a  large  ring  of  silver  or  cop- 
per ;  earrings  with  three  rows  of  drops  reaching  down  to  the 
shoulders  and  passing  through  holes  that  would  admit  a  finger  ; 
a  little  square  apron  before  and  another  behind,  both  fastened  by 
one  string  or  ribband  ;  the  legs  and  thighs  sometimes  naked,  at 
others  covered  with  long  cloth  spatterdashers  ;  socks  of  leather 
dried  in  the  smoke  ;  on  some  occasions  a  shirt  with  short,  wide 
sleeves,  variegated  or  striped  with  blue  and  white,  and  flowing 
loose  down  the  thighs,  and  over  this  a  blanket  or  square  piece  of 
cloth,  thrown  over  one  shoulder  and  tied  under  the  opposite  arm 
or  under  the  chin.  On  particular  occasions,  when  they  dress  for 
war  or  for  a  feast,  the  hair  is  braided  and  interwoven  with  feathers, 
plants,  flowers,  and  even  bones ;  the  warriors  wear  round  their 
waists  broad  rings  of  copper  or  silver,  resembling  our  dog  collars, 
and  round  the  head  a  diadem  formed  of  silver  buckles  and  trinkets 
of  glass  ;  in  their  hand  they  have  their  pipe  or  their  knife  or  their 
tomahawk,  and  the  little  looking-glass,  which  every  savage  uses 
with  more  coquetry,  to  admire  so  many  charms,  than  the  most 
coquettish  belle  of  Paris. ^ 

No  doubt  this  singular  miscellany  might  also  have  been 
found,  though  upon  a  smaller  pattern,  at  Fort  Ouiatenon 
and  at  Kekionga,  the  aboriginal  La  Fayette  and  Fort 
Wayne. 

From   this  mixed    population   the    savage  element  was 

1  "  Climate  and  Soil  of  the  United  States,"  pp.  392-5. 


THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    INDIANA.  27 

rapidly  removed.  The  French,  who  had  been  masters  of 
the  soil,  gradually  yielded  to  the  more  hardy  and  energetic 
Americans,  although  Congress  in  1792  had  given 

four  hundred  acres  of  land  to  every  one  who  paid  the  capita- 
tion, and  a  hundred  more  to  every  man  who  served  in  the  militia. 
These  would  have  been  a  fortune  to  an  American  family  [con- 
tinues the  impartial  Frenchman  whom  we  have  quoted  before], 
but  to  the  French,  hunters  rather  than  farmers,  they  were  only  a 
transitory  gift,  which  these  ignorant  and  imprudent  men  sold  to 
Americans  for  less  than  eight  guineas  the  hundred  acres,  and  even 
this  small  sum  they  were  paid  in  clothes  and  other  goods  on 
which  a  profit  of  twenty  or  five  and  twenty  per  cent  was  laid. 
These  lands,  which  were  of  excellent  quality,  sold  as  early  as  1796 
at  two  dollars  an  acre  and  I  will  venture  to  say  that  they  are  now 
worth  ten.  Thus  reduced  for  the  most  part  to  their  gardens,  or 
the  land  with  which  they  could  not  dispense,  the  French  settlers 
had  nothing  to  live  on  but  their  fruit,  vegetables,  potatoes,  Indian 
corn,  and  once  now  and  then  a  little  game.  No  wonder  therefore 
they  became  lean  as  Arabs. ^ 

As  the  French  degenerated  and  receded  the  native  im- 
migration perceptibly  increased.  Each  of  the  various 
military  expeditions,  especially  that  of  Wayne,  had  left 
behind  the  natural  deposit  of  stragglers  from  the  army. 
Older  communities  in  the  East  began  to  think  of  such  in- 
vestments of  capital  in  the  Indiana  wilderness  as  at  an 
earlier  day  had  drawn  George  Washington,  the  young 
diplomatist  of  the  "Ohio  Land  Company,"  far  into  the 
western  woods. '^  The  vast  "  Illinois  grants  "  made  by  the 
Virginia  legislature  in  1784  to  General  Clark  and  his  vic- 
torious troops  included  most  of  Clark  County,  Ind.,  and 
now  were  alluring  immigrants  from  beyond  the  AUe- 
ghanies.  In  1796  Dufour  explored  the  country  along  the 
Ohio,  and  finally  secured  from  Congress  three  thousand 
acres  of  land  for  a  Swiss  colony,  in  what  is  now  Switzerland 

1  "  Climate  and  Soil  of  the  United  States,"  pp.  371,  372. 

2  See  Irving's  "  Life  of  Washington,"  Vol.  L 


28  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

County.  It  was,  however,  the  hardy  woodsmen  just  be- 
yond the  southern  border  who  most  readily  yielded  to  the 
attractions  of  the  wild  region,  where  the  French  had  been 
supplanted  and  from  which  the  savages  were  now  being 
inevitably  forced.  At  the  opening  of  the  present  century 
the  settlements  were  therefore  strongly  Kentuckian,  and 
for  a  considerable  period  afterward  it  was  chiefly  by 
families  from  Kentucky,  with  a  smaller  number  from  Vir- 
ginia, Tennessee,  and  the  Carolinas,  that  the  clearings 
were  made  and  the  primitive  cabins  builded. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  local  chroniclers  are  not  without 
justification  for  the  pride  they  take  in  the  early  Indiana 
history.  Judge  Law  writes  as  follows  with  especial  refer- 
ence to  Vincennes: 

I  know  of  no  portion  of  our  country  richer  in  historical  incident. 
For  surely  a  town  which  is  one  of  the  oldest  on  the  continent ;  one 
for  the  possession  of  which  the  greatest  nations  of  the  earth  have 
contended — France,  England,  and  the  United  States  ;  one  located 
upon  the  beautiful  stream  which  flows  before  it,  the  Ouabache,  a 
river  known  and  noted  on  the  maps  of  the  West  long  before  the 
Ohio  was  known  in  the  geography  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  a 
river  which  for  nearly  a  century  bore  upon  its  waters  the  bateaux 
of  the  three  great  powers  above  mentioned,  bringing  their  armed 
warriors  to  occupy,  and  if  possible  to  preserve  it ;  one  which  has 
seen  within  its  garrison  the  mousquitaire  of  Louis  XV.,  the 
grenadier  of  George  III.,  the  riflemen  of  Clark,  and  the  regular 
troops  of  Harmar,  St.  Clair,  and  Harrison  ;  one  above  which  has 
floated  the  " Fleur  de  Lis,"  the  "Cross  of  St.  George,"  and  the 
glorious  stars  and  stripes  of  our  beloved  country,  is  surely  worthy 
of  at  least  a  passing  notice  by  those  who  are  now  reaping  the  rich 
fruits  of  a  conquest  made  under  the  most  adverse  and  trying  cir- 
cumstances and  with  a  skill  and  bravery  not  unsurpassed  in  the 
most  glorious  triumphs  of  the  Revolution. ^ 

Of  the  Kekionga  of  the  Miamis,  the  present  Fort 
Wayne,  almost  a  rival  of  Vincennes  in  antiquity,  and  fur- 
nishing, though  for  a  somewhat  humbler  page,  abundant 

1  "  Colonial  History  of  Vincennes,"  pp.  v.  and  vi. 


THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    INDIANA.  29 

materials  for  story  and  song,  the  records  are  less  complete. 
The  junction  of  the  St.  Mary  and  St.  Joseph  may  claim, 
however,  a  place 

in  the  annals  of  that  momentous  contest  between  French  and 
English  civilization,  between  Romanism  and  Protestantism,  which 
was  waged  with  alternating  success,  and  with  short  intervals  of 
repose,  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  terminating  soon  after  the 
fall  of  Quebec  in  the  establishment  of  Anglo-Saxon  supremacy  by 
the  treaty  of  1763.  The  massacre  of  the  little  English  garrison 
three  fourths  of  a  mile  north  from  [Fort  Wayne]  on  the  27th  of 
May,  1763,  during  Pontiac's  war,  was  accomplished  through  the 
treacherous  influence  of  French  traders  over  the  Indians.  This 
was  among  the  last  exertions  of  French  power  on  this  continent, 
east  of  the  Mississippi.  It  was  a  subsiding  wave  on  the  outer 
circle  of  the  long  agitated  waters.^ 

The  population  thus  sifted  and  disciplined  by  provi- 
dence, and  at  last  receiving  its  characteristic  tendencies 
from  the  region  immediately  beyond  the  Ohio,  was  one 
that  naturally  appealed  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  for 
sympathy  and  help.  The  response  came  heartily  and 
promptly  from  Kentucky. 

1  "  Historical  Sketch  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Fort  Wayne,"  by  Judge  Jesse 
L.  WiUiams,  pp.  3,  4. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  First  Missionaries. 
I 800-1 806. 

The  first  decided  drift  of  population  toward  Indiana  set 
in  at  a  period  especially  favorable  to  the  work  of  evangeli- 
zation and  to  the  establishment  of  Presbyterian  institu- 
tions. It  was  soon  after  the  opening  of  the  present 
century.  Kentucky,  upon  the  southern  border,  with  a 
large  Calvinistic  element  among  her  people  and  a  consider- 
able number  of  ardent  and  able  Presbyterian  ministers,  had 
been  aroused  to  the  highest  pitch  of  religious  enthusiasm 
by  what  is  still  described  as  "the  Great  Revival."  They 
could  not  be  indifferent  to  the  spiritual  condition  of  the 
settlers  across  the  Ohio,  among  whom  were  their  former 
neighbors  and  friends.  The  General  Assembly  was  under 
a  like  impulse  from  on  high,  and  was  appointing  itinerants 
for  the  regions  beyond.^  At  the  same  time  the  great  mis- 
sionary awakening  began  to  move  New  England,  and 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  those  home  and  foreign  mis- 
sionary societies  which  have  since  exercised  so  vast  a 
power.  A  little  later,  too,  there  was  a  movement  west- 
ward from  Ohio,  which  contributed  valuable  aid,  partic- 
ularly to  settlements  near  the  eastern  line  of  Indiana. 
From  a  variety  of  sources,  therefore,  and  from  widely 
separated  regions,  the  gospel  came,  at  this  auspicious 
epoch,  to  what  was  now  the  farthest  West. 

Naturally  the  first  laborers  were  from  Kentucky,  the 
nearest  neighbor,  still  under  the  stress  of  the  revival. 
They  were  volunteers.      As  early  as   1804,  5-  ^^^  ^  ^^^Y 

1  In  1805  the  Assembly  commissioned  Thomas  Williamson,  and  in  1806  Samuel  Holt, 
to  Indiana. 

30 


THE    FIRST    MISSIONARIES.  3I 

made  ''short  missionary  excursions"  to  the  neighborhood 
of  Vincennes. '  They  were  members  of  Transylvania  Pres- 
bytery— Rannels,  Robertson,  McGready,  and  Cleland. 

Samuel  Rannels  was  born  December  lo,  1765,  in 
Hampshire  County,  Va.,  where  he  remained  with  his 
father  until  he  was  nearly  twenty  years  of  age.  He  grad- 
uated, March,  1792,  at  Dickinson  College,  then  under  its 
able  president,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbet.  He  received 
licensure  from  the  Presbytery  of  Lexington,  Va. ,  in  1794. 
In  the  following  spring  he  came  to  Kentucky,  having 
a  call  to  the  united  congregations  of  Paris  and  Stoner- 
mouth,  which  he  accepted.  Ordained  in  1796  he  returned 
to  Virginia  and  was  united  in  marriage,  May  loth  of  the 
same  year,  with  Margaret  Gilkison.  Coming  to  Kentucky 
he  labored  in  the  held  to  which  he  had  been  called  for 
more  than  twenty  years,  the  relation  being  terminated  by 
his  death,  March  24,  1817. 

Mr.  Rannels  was  about  six  feet  in  height  and  well  pro- 
portioned. He  was  of  an  amiable  disposition  and  agree- 
able manners.  Solemn  and  affectionate  in  the  discharge 
of  his  office,  he  was  orderly  and  punctual  in  all  his  trans- 
actions. His  pulpit  exercises  were  of  various  degrees  of 
excellence,  sometimes  far  above  mediocrity,  but  on  other 
occasions  noticeably  deticient  in  power.  In  the  great  re- 
ligious excitement  prevailing  in  Kentucky  in  1802-3,  and 
which  was  attended  with  much  irregularity,  finally  pro- 
ducing heresy  and  schism,  Mr.  Rannels  was  among  the 
first  and  foremost  to  raise  a  note  of  warning.  It  was  then 
that  he  gave  some  of  the  happiest  illustrations  of  his  im- 
pressive pulpit  abilities.  To  him  and  a  few  others  in  those 
perilous  times,  the  church  in  Kentucky,  particularly  the 
Presbyterian  body,  owed  its  defense  and  support  so  far  as 
human  agency  was  concerned.^     He  was  one  of  the  first  of 

1  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,"  pp.  ii,  12.  ' 

2  Bishop's  "  Memoir  of  Rice,"  pp.  166-8.     Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  p.  115. 


32  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  Kentucky  ministers   to   cross  the  Ohio  into   Indiana. 

Samuel  B.  Robertson  received  ordination  in  1801  and 
became  pastor  of  the  congregations  of  Cane  Run  and  New 
Providence,  where  he  continued  until  1811,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Columbia,  Adair  County.  Subsequently  he  was 
pastor  of  Lebanon  church  for  four  years.  "  He  lived  to  a 
good  old  age  and,  having  fallen  upon  sleep,  he  chose  to  be 
buried  in  the  graveyard  of  this  church  by  the  side  of  the 
wife  of  his  youth.'"  Admired  as  a  preacher,^  though  not 
a  man  of  commanding  abilities,  his  name  is  prominent  in 
the  Indiana  history,  as  by  him  was  effected  the  organization 
of  the  first  church. 

James  McGready  not  infrequently  repeated  his  early 
excursions  to  Indiana.  Nature  had  commissioned  him  as 
an  exhorter,  and  with  the  populace  he  was  a  great  favorite. 
On  special  occasions,  during  the  ten  years  previous  to  18 17, 
the  pastor  at  Vincennes  often  summoned  him  to  his  aid. 
His  tremendous  oratory  at  "the  Presbyterian  Stand"  in 
the  woods,  addressed  to  thousands  of  people  attracted  from 
an  incredible  distance,  was  as  stern  and  faithful  as  the  ' '  cry- 
ing in  the  wilderness  "  of  Judaea.  A  large  man,  inclined  to 
corpulency,  with  a  voice  of  thunder,  the  "  hideousness  "  ^ 
of  his  face  seemed  only  to  render  his  habitual  denunciations 
of  sin  more  terrible.  He  was  born  of  Scotch-Irish  parents, 
on  the  Monongahela,  in  western  Pennsylvania,  in  1763, 
but  while  he  was  still  a  child  the  family  removed  to  North 
Carolina,  near  the  present  Greensboro.  In  1783  he  was 
converted,  was  soon  persuaded  of  his  call  to  preach  the 
gospel,  and  after  a  course  of  study  in  Dr.  McMillan's 
school,   subsequently  known  as  Cannonsburg  College,   he 

1  Hogue's   "  Historical  Discourse  preached  in  the   Presbyterian    Church,    Lebanon, 
Ky.,"  1857,  p.  13. 

2  See  "  Life  of  Cleland,"  p.  127. 

3  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"'  p.  132. 


THE    FIRST    MISSIONARIES.  33 

received  licensure  from  Redstone  Presbytery.  Returning 
to  North  Carolina,  at  a  funeral,  in  compliment  to  the  young 
minister  he  was  invited  to  ask  a  blessing  preparatory  to 
the  usual  unstinted  dispensation  of  whisky  on  such  occa- 
sions. His  prompt  refusal  to  ''insult  God  by  asking  a 
blessing  on  what  was  wrong  "^  produced  great  excitement, 
and  the  pungency  of  his  subsequent  preaching  resulted  in 
a  remarkable  revival  which  extended  through  Guilford  and 
Orange  Counties — the  second  general  revival  in  North  Car- 
olina after  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

This  revival  was  attended  with  no  unusual  appearances  or  ex- 
ercises. The  opposition  to  the  close  and  practical  preaching  and 
renewed  discipline  never  broke  out  into  violence  but  in  one  case. 
At  Stony  Creek  there  were  some  families  of  wealth  and  influence 
that  had  become  loose  in  their  religious  views  and  morals  during 
the  disturbance  of  the  war  and  the  presence  of  the  armies  ;  these 
opposed  Mr.  McGready's  course  and  preaching,  and  proceeded 
from  one  step  of  opposition  to  another,  till  their  dislike  exceeded 
all  bounds.  Some  of  these,  during  one  of  their  nights  of  revelry, 
made  a  bonfire  of  the  pulpit,  near  the  church,  and  left  in  the  clerk's 
seat  a  letter  written  with  blood,  warning  him  that  unless  he  de- 
sisted from  his  w^ay  of  preaching,  their  vengeance  would  not  be 
satisfied  with  the  destruction  of  the  pulpit,  and  his  person  would 
not  be  inviolate.  McGready,  as  might  have  been  expected,  not  in 
the  least  intimidated  by  the  burning  of  the  pulpit  or  the  letter,  con- 
tinued to  preach  as  usual, ^  and  the  opposition,  confined  to  a  few, 
died  away.  In  a  few  years  the  dissipation  of  these  families  became 
the  ruin  of  their  character  and  property,  and  after  the  lapse  of  a 
short  period  not  a  descendant  of  theirs  could  be  found  in  the  con- 
gregation. ^ 

In  1796  McGready  removed  to  the  southwestern  part  of 

1  Foote's  "  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,"  pp.  371,  372.  Later  in  life,  when  suffering 
from  exposure,  he  unfortunately  indulged  too  freely  in  a  needed  stimulant,  and  was  so 
ashamed  and  penitent  that  he  ever  afterward  observed  that  day  of  the  month  as  a  day  of 
fasting  and  prayer.     See  Davidson,  pp.  260,  261. 

2  The  following  Sunday  he  gave  out  the  psalm  beginning  "  How  are  the  seats  of 
worship  broke." 

3  Foote's  "  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,"  p.  375. 


34  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Kentucky,  and  assumed  charge  of  the  Gasper,  Muddy,  and 
Red  River  congregations.  His  fearless  proclamation  of 
the  law  produced  here  the  same  results  that  had  been  wit- 
nessed in  North  Carolina,  the  revival  of  1800  having  its 
commencement  under  his  ministry.  Its  earliest  manifesta- 
tions are  described  by  McGready  himself. 

In  July  the  sacrament  was  administered  in  Gasper  River  con- 
gregation. Here  multitudes  crowded  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
to  see  a  strange  work,  from  the  distance  of  forty,  fifty,  and  even  a 
hundred  miles  ;  whole  families  came  in  their  wagons  ;  between 
twenty  and  thirty  wagons  were  brought  to  the  place,  loaded  with 
people  and  their  provisions,  in  order  to  encamp  at  the  meeting- 
house. On  Friday  nothing  more  appeared  during  the  day  than  a 
decent  solemnity.  On  Saturday  matters  continued  in  the  same 
way  until  in  the  evening.  Two  pious  women  were  sitting  together 
conversing  about  their  exercises  ;  which  conversation  seemed  to 
affect  some  of  the  bystanders ;  instantly  the  divine  flame  spread 
through  the  whole  multitude.  Presently  you  might  have  seen  sin- 
ners lying  powerless  in  every  part  of  the  house,  praying  and  crying 
for  mercy.  Ministers  and  private  Christians  were  kept  busy  dur- 
ing the  night  conversing  with  the  distressed.  This  night  a  goodly 
number  of  awakened  souls  were  delivered  by  sweet  believing 
views  of  the  glory,  fulness,  and  sufficiency  of  Christ  to  save  to  the 
uttermost.  Amongst  these  were  some  little  children,  a  striking 
proof  of  the  religion  of  Jesus.  ^ 

The  subsequent  extravagances  of  this  period  found  in 
McGready  a  sincere  and  powerful  apologist,  and  he  was 
finally  involved  in  the  controversies  out  of  which  grew  the 
Cumberland  church.  He  was,  however,  too  clear  in  his 
theological  views,  too  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  Pres- 
byterian forms,  and  too  strongly  attached  to  the  old 
church,  to  be  contented  in  the  work  of  schism.  He  went 
far  enough  to  receive  censure,  but  made  suitable  acknowl- 
edgments and  was  restored  to  his  former  ecclesiastical 
standing.     The  Cumberland  church,  however,  still  revere 

1  McGready's  "  Posthumous  Works,"  pp.  ix.,  x. 


THE    FIRST    MISSIONARIES.  35 

him  as  their  founder/  and  after  his  decease,  which  occurred 
in  Henderson  County  in  1817,  most  of  his  adherents  united 
with  that  body. 

Too  eccentric  and  excitable  to  be  safe  in  his  leadership, 
no  doubt  the  evangelical  preaching  of  McGready  was  most 
useful  to  the  feeble  Indiana  church.  It  is  likely  that  many 
of  the  discourses  which  constitute  the  volume  of  his 
* '  Posthumous  Works  ' '  were  heard  by  the  immense  audi- 
ences attracted  by  his  fame  to  the  sacramental  meetings 
along  the  Wabash  and  the  Ohio.  Their  titles  sufficiently 
suggest  their  vividness  and  force — "The  Blinding  Policies 
of  Satan,"  "  The  Sinner's  Guide  to  Hell,"  "  The  Hope  of 
the  Hypocrite,"  "The  Deceitfulness  of  the  Human 
Heart,"  "The  Doom  of  the  Impenitent."  In  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  Samuel  J.  Mills,  during  his  tour  of  observation 
in  the  West,  McGready  writes,  April  27,  18 15,  from  Red 
Banks,  Henderson  County,  Ky. : 

If  some  religious  tracts  were  in  my  possession  showing  the 
vanity  and  soul-destroying  nature  of  giddy  balls  and  vain  amuse- 
ments, some  treating  of  the  importance  of  secret  prayer,  some  of 
the  danger  of  quenching  conviction,  some  giving  an  account  of 
extraordinary  conversions — such,  I  think,  I  could  distribute  to 
advantage. - 

E\erything  this  mighty  backwoodsman  said  and  did  showed 
the  singleness,  the  intensity,  and  the  sagacity  of  his  aim. 

To  those  who  at  this  period  came  from  Kentucky  upon 
an  occasional  preaching  tour  must  be  added  the  name  of 
James  Kemper.  He  had  been  from  1791  to  1796  the  first 
settled  minister''  of  the  First  Church,  Cincinnati,  constitu- 

1  Smith's  "  History  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  '"  contains  full  notices  of 
his  character  and  career. 

2  "  Report  of  Smith  and  Mills's  Tour,"  p.  52. 

3  Kemper  came  from  Virginia  to  Tennessee  as  early  as  1783,  and  thence  to  Kentucky 
in  1785.  He  was  licensed  to  preach,  after  four  years'  study  under  David  Rice,  being 
already  the  father  of  ten  children.  He  was  the  first  minister  ordained  north  of  the 
Ohio,  and  preached  the  first  sermon  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  first  Presbytery  that  con- 
vened in  Ohio,  it  being  his  own  ordination  sermon.  Born  in  Fauquier  County,  Va., 
November  23,  1753,  married  July  16,   1772,  to  Judith  Hathaway,  he  died  August  20, 


36  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ted  by  "  Father  Rice,"  but  he  afterward  returned  to  Ken- 
tucky. As  early  as  1804,  and  for  several  years  subse- 
quently, he  visited  Rising  Sun,  Samuel  Fulton,  a  worthy 
pioneer,  opening  his  cabin  for  the  religious  services  which 
Mr.  Kemper  conducted.^ 

Such  irregular  and  infrequent  efforts  as  have  been  de- 
scribed could  effect  but  little  however.  There  was  need 
of  systematic  ecclesiastical  supervision,  and  Transylvania 
Presbytery  may  claim  the  honor  of  making  the  earliest 
recorded  appointment  of  missionaries  to  Indiana.  At 
Danville,  April  14,  1803,  it  was  resolved  that  Archibald 
Cameron  supply  "in  the  Illinois  grant  and  at  Post  Vin- 
cennes  settlements,"^  James  Vance  being  associated  with 
him  ;  and  although  neither  performed  the  duty  assigned, 
their  reasons  for  failure  being  presented  and  sustained  at 
Hardin's  Creek,  October  5,  1803,^  ^s  Archibald  Cameron 
is  a  name  well  known  in  Indiana,  whither  subsequently  he 
came  more  than  once  to  preach,  we  may  pause  a  moment 
to  look  at  this  Kentucky  John  the  Baptist,  the  forerunner 
of  the  whole  vast  army  of  missionaries  since  commissioned 
to  the  same  field.  A  native  of  Scotland,  brought  by  his 
parents  to  America  when  a  child,  he  became  a  thorough 
mathematician  and  classical  scholar,  studied  theology 
under  Father  Rice,  after  seven  years'  service  at  Simpson's 
Creek  took  charge  in  1803  of  the  Shelby ville  and  Mul- 
berry churches,  and  remained  with  them  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1836.  He  was  an  old  bachelor,  blunt  in 
his  manners,  independent  as  a  Highland  chief,  shrewd, 
satirical,   and  orthodox  to  a  fault.*     "He  often  preached 

1834,  his  widow  following  him  March  i,  1846.  Fifteen  children  were  born  to  them. 
Cf.  "  Presbyterianism  North  of  the  Ohio,"  a  semi-centennial  discourse  delivered  before 
the  Presbytery  of  Cincinnati,  April  9,  1872,  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  G.  Monfort,  D.D. 

1  Goodrich  and  Tuttle's  "  Historj'  of  Indiana,"  p.  491. 

2  "  Minutes  Transylvania  Presbytery,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  72. 

3  "  Minutes  Transylvania  Presbytery,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  75. 

4  His  orthodoxy,  at  least  on  one  occasion,  was  the  cause  of  some  embarrassment  to 
him.      Dr.  Beatty  was  fond  of  relating  that  in  the  Assembly  of  1835,  when  the  irregular!- 


THE    FIRST    MISSIONARIES.  37 

three  full  hours,  and  when  he  got  waked  up  on  baptism 
could  preach  six  hours."  In  his  later  years,  helpless  from 
paralysis,  surrounded  but  often  neglected  by  his  blacks, 
contented  with  corn  and  bacon,  on  a  small  plantation  near 
Shelbyville  he  maintained  a  gruff  baronial  hospitaHty.  He 
published  a  number  of  able  pamphlets'  and  in  the  Cumber- 
land controversy  was  a  prominent  and  useful  conservative. 
"Supplications  for  supplies"  were  now  frequently  sub- 
mitted to  Transylvania  Presbytery.  At  Danville,  October 
17,  1804,  "a  petition  was  received  from  Post  Vincennes 
praying  for  supplies."^  April  9,  1805,  "a  petition  from  a 
number  of  inhabitants  of  Knox  County,  Indiana  territory, 
praying  for  supplies  was  presented  and  read."  Two  days 
later  "Mr.  Cleland  was  appointed  to  supply  in  Indiana 
territory  as  much  of  his  time  as  he  can  with  con- 
veniency."^  He  discharged  the  duty,  and  thus  became 
the  first  official  delegate  who  labored  upon  this  field.  If 
his  own  qualities  had  been  less  captivating,  and  his  service 
of  the  church  in  Indiana  less  important,  the  lending  of  a 
son  for  so  many  years  to  that  service  would  still  require  us 
to  review  his  career  and  character. 

Thomas  Cleland  was  for  many  years  the  most  popu- 

ties  in  the  Western  Reserve  were  under  review,  and  when  he  himself  had  to  make  his 
maiden  speech  in  the  Assembly,  Cameron,  jumping  upon  a  seat,  delivered  a  violent 
philippic  against  the  disorders  in  the  region  referred  to.  Upon  the  Assembly's  adjourn- 
ment, Cameron,  returning  home,  was  overtaken  by  the  Sabbath  at  Cleveland,  and  called 
upon  young  Mr.  Aiken,  the  pastor  there,  expecting  to  be  invited  to  preach.  But  Aiken, 
who  had  been  at  the  Assembly  and  had  heard  Cameron's  speech,  slyly  suggested  that 
upon  the  "  Reserve  "  they  had  had  so  much  trouble  with  impostors  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  refuse  admission  into  their  pulpits  to  ministers  without  written  credentials.  So 
the  doughty  Kentuckian  had  to  listen  patiently  next  day  to  two  good  "  New-school  " 
sermons.     See  also  Sprague's  "  Annals,"  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  168-72. 

1  Among  these  are:  "The  Faithful  Steward,  being  an  impartial  investigation  of  the 
subject:  is  the  church  justifiable  in  baptizing  adults  without  evidence  of  their  faith 
and  repentance,  and  in  baptizing  the  children  of  any  parents  who  do  not  likewise  give 
evidence  of  being  the  subjects  of  faith  and  repentance,"  Louisville,  1806;  and  "  A  reply 
to  some  questions  on  Divine  Predestination,  with  some  remarks  on  a  pamphlet  entitled, 
'  The  Trial  of  Cain,'  "  Shelbyville,  1822. 

2  "  Minutes  Transylvania  Presbytery,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  103. 

3  "  Minutes  Transylvania  Presbytery,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  iii. 


38  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

lar  Presbyterian  preacher  in  Kentucky.  Born  in  Fairfax 
County,  Va.,  May  22,  1778,  removed  in  childhood  to 
Maryland,  and  afterward  in  1789  to  Kentucky,  educated 
at  the  Kentucky  Academy  and  at  Transylvania  University, 
though  ht  had  chosen  the  law  for  a  profession  he  was 
seized  upon  by  the  Presbytery  and  licensed  April  14,  1803. 
He  had  previously  made  effective  addresses  at  religious 
meetings,  crowds  being  easily  drawn  together  when  "it 
was  noised  abroad  that  little  Tommy  Cleland  had  com- 
menced preaching."  His  success  made  such  an  impres- 
sion that  the  Presbytery  soon  interpreted  it  as  a  manifest 
call  to  the  ministry.  The  night  of  his  marriage  to  a 
daughter  of  Captain  John  Armstrong  Presbytery  convened 
in  Mr.  Armstrong's  house.  Then  and  there  he  was  exam- 
ined, as  he  supposed  with  a  view  of  giving  him  license  to 
exhort,  but  notwithstanding  his  protestations  they  enrolled 
his  name  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry.  He  urged  his 
new  domestic  responsibilities,  his  limited  education,  his 
want  of  theological  books  and  teachers.  It  was  quite 
impossible,  he  argued,  that  he  should  now  think  of  the 
ministry  as  a  profession.  The  hour  of  midnight  drew  on. 
Alexander  Cameron,  bachelor  though  he  was,  said,  "Let 
the  young  man  alone.  His  wedding  day  is  not  the  time 
to  consider  such  a  call."  But,  as  the  captive  declares  in 
his  autobiography,  he  was  ' '  completely  taken  in  by  the 
Presbytery,"  which  "assigned  me  as  a  part  of  trial  for  its 
next  spring  meeting  a  sermon  from  the  text,  '  Woe  is  me 
if  I  preach  not  the  gospel.'"^  Thus  entrapped  Cleland 
soon  made  good  proof  of  his  ministry,  becoming  an 
acknowledged  leader  in  the  work  so  well  begun  by  the 
older  generation  under  Father  Rice.  He  was  settled  first 
in  Washington,  and  afterward  at  New  Providence  in  Mer- 
cer County,  where  he  remained  until  his  life  was  gently 
closed,  January  31,  1858. 

1  "  Life  of  Cleland,"  p.  70. 


THE    FIRST    MISSIONARIES.  39 

The  Presbytery  could  have  sent  no  better  man  to  the 
wilderness.  Of  small  stature,  but  lithe  and  hardy  ;  plain 
in  dress  and  manners  ;  prudent  and  sensible ;  not  without 
wit  ;  a  sturdy  controversialist  though  loving  peace  ;  a  dili- 
gent writer  for  the  press  ;  in  the  pulpit  full  of  pathos  and  of 
Scripture  ;  a  tireless  itinerant  and  revivalist,  his  selection 
was  an  admirable  one,  and  the  service  required  just  at  the 
beginning  of  his  public  career  must  have  proven  a  valuable 
experience  to  himself.  Of  his  tour  to  Vincennes  we  have 
an  account  from  his  own  pen  : 

Transylvania  Presbytery  had  no  definite  limits  in  a  southern 
direction.  It  also  included  Indiana,  etc.,  on  the  north.  In  the 
spring  of  1805  I  was  directed  to  visit  Vincennes  and  the  adjoining 
regions.  It  was  an  uninhabited  route  I  had  to  go.  A  small  wilder- 
ness trace,  with  only  one  residence  on  the  way,  in  the  most  destitute 
part  of  the  way,  to  entertain  me  during  the  night.  Here  Was  my 
poor  animal  tied  to  a  tree,  fed  with  the  grain  packed  in  a  wallet 
from  Louisville,  and  myself  stretched  on  the  puncheon  floor  of  a 
small  cabin,  for  the  night's  rest.  All  passed  off,  however,  without 
any  detriment  or  discomfort.  The  next  evening  made  up  for  all 
previous  privations.  I  was  welcomed  and  agreeably  entertained 
at  the  governor's  palace  during  my  stay  at  Vincennes.  The  late 
William  H.  Harrison,  then  a  young  man,  with  a  Presbyterian  wife, 
was  governor  of  the  Indiana  territory,  as  it  then  was.  He  had 
recently  held  a  treaty  with  a  certain  tribe  of  Indians,  who  assem- 
bled at  X'^incennes. 

The  first  sermon  I  preached,  and  it  was  the  first  ever  preached 
in  the  place,  at  least  by  a  Presbyterian  minister,  was  in  the  council- 
house,  but  a  short  time  before  occupied  by  the  sons  of  the  forest. 
I  preached  also  in  a  settlement  twenty  miles  up  the  Wabash,  where 
were  a  few  Presbyterian  families,  chiefly  from  Shelby  County, 
Ky.  They  were  so  anxious  to  have  me  settle  among  them 
that  they  proffered  to  send  all  the  way  to  Kentucky  to  remove  my 
family,  without  any  trouble  or  expense  to  myself,  besides  ofTering 
me  a  generous  support.  I  somehow  or  other,  from  the  beginning 
of  domestic  life,  had  my  mind  determined  on  residing  in  a  free 
state,  and  here  was  an  inviting  prospect.  I  w^as  indeed  anxious  to 
comply  with  their  wishes.  But  besides  the  heavy  contest  for  my 
land  with  old  Colonel  Shelby,  now  in    process  of  litigation,  the 


40  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Lord  was  showing  me  special  favor  with  my  people  at  home  by  an 
unusual  blessing  upon  my  labors.  But  still  they  were  not  willing 
to  give  the  matter  up,  and  that  we  might  have  a  little  more  time 
to  reflect  and  inquire  of  the  Lord  what  was  his  will  and  pleasure 
concerning  the  wished-for  change  in  my  field  of  labor,  I  engaged 
to  make  them  a  returned  visit  the  next  year.  I  did  return  at  the 
time  appointed.  The  prospect  seemed  brighter  than  before.  I 
was  welcomed  on  all  sides,  by  men  of  the  world  as  well  as 
by  men  of  the  church.  And  what  was  more  I  was  welcomed 
by  some  poor  sinners  too,  whom  the  Lord  gave  me  as  souls 
for  my  hire.  And  though  I  was  prevented  from  settling  among 
them,  for  the  reason  already  specified,  yet  for  a  number  of  years 
afterward  I  received  messages  from  those  who  claimed  me  as 
their  spiritual  father  ;  and  for  aught  that  I  know  some  remain 
there  till  the  present  day.^ 

The  following  year  (1806)  '  this  mission  of  CI  eland  bore 
fruit  in  the  establishment  of  the  first  Presbyterian  church 
in  Indiana.  Dickey  supposes  it  to  have  been  the  earliest 
Protestant  organization  in  the  territory,  but  this  is  perhaps 
an  error.  The  Baptists  seem  rightly  to  claim  precedence. 
A  competent  authority  says  : 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1798  that  the  first  Protestant  congrega- 
tion was  organized  in  Indiana  territory.  This  was  a  Regular  Bap- 
tist church,  composed  of  four  members  and  established  on  the 
Philadelphia  confession  of  faith.     The  organization  was  effected  a 

1  "  Life  of  Cleland,"  pp.  87-9. 

2  This  has  been  questioned,  an  effort  having  been  made  to  substitute  1802  as  the 
correct  date.  But  the  following  facts  are  conclusive  in  the  matter  :  (i)  The  later  date 
rests  on  the  authority  of  Dickey,  who  wrote  in  1828  and  was  familiar  with  the  whole 
historj' ;  (2)  Cleland  distinctly  says  that  in  1805  he  preached  the  first  Presbyterian 
sermon  in  Vincennes  ("  Life  of  Cleland,"  p.  88);  (3)  A  few  aged  persons  still  survive 
who  came  to  Vincennes  several  years  subsequent  to  1802,  but  remember  being  present  at 
the  organization  of  the  "  Indiana  "  church  ;  (4)  Accounts  agree  that  Scott  came  to  Vin- 
cennes to  preach  the  year  after  the  organization  ;  but  he  did  not  receive  licensure  until 
December,  1803,  and  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Mt.  Pleasant  church  in  Kentucky 
in  1805.  The  records  of  West  Lexington  Presbytery  report  him  absent,  October, 
1807,  on  a  mission,  the  Assembly  having  appointed  him  ("Minutes,"'  1806)  to  "be 
a  missionary  for  three  months  in  the  Indiana  territory  and  especially  at  Vincennes"; 
(5)  Samuel  J.  Mills,  in  a  letter  dated  January  20,  1815,  speaks  of  Scott's  "valiantly 
maintaining  his  post  for  sij;  years  past."     After  his  tour  in    1807  he  had  gone  back  to 

Kentucky  for  a  time. 


THE    FIRST    MISSIONARIES.  4I 

few  miles  northeast  of  the  Littell  settlement/  but  the  first  house  of 
worship  was  subsequently  erected  on  the  east  bank  of  Silver 
Creek,  near  Mr.  Littell's  farm,  where  it  became  widely  known  as 
the  Regular  Baptist  church  at  Silver  Creek.  There  it  still  stands, 
the  oldest  Protestant  church  in  the  state. - 

The  Methodists  came  only  a  little  later.  The  Rev. 
George  K.  Hester  says  : 

It  is  believed  that  the  first  society  formed  in  the  state  was 
organized  at  Father  Robertson's.^  This  must  have  been  in 
the  spring  of  1803.  Then  came  McGuice  and  Sullivan.  In  1805 
Peter  Cartwright*  preached  in  "  the  Grant,"  and  in  the  fall  of  1805 
Asa  Shinn  and  Moses  Ash  worth  preached  there.  In  1807  the 
work  on  this  side  of  the  river  was  organized  into  Silver  Creek  cir- 
cuit with  Moses  Ash  worth  for  their  preacher.^ 

The  "Church  of  Indiana,'"^  the  oldest  Presbyterian 
society  in  the  state,  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  B. 
Robertson,  in  1806,  the  service  being  held  in  the  barn  of 
Colonel  Small,  about  two  miles  east  of  Vincennes. 
Though  not  large,  the  congregation  was  composed  of  ex- 
cellent material.  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  young 
governor,  had  married  a  Presbyterian  wife,  and  was  him- 
self a  steadfast  friend  of  the  society.  Its  members  were, 
however,  chiefly  from  Kentucky.  Well  instructed  at 
home,  by  the  occasional  visits  of  Rannels,  McGready, 
Robertson,  and   Cleland    their  duty  to   the  faith   of  their 

1  Near  Charlestown,  Clark  County. 

2  "  Pioneer  Preachers  of  Indiana,"  by  Madison  Evans,  p.  43. 

3  Five  miles  north  of  Charlestown.  "The  first  Methodist  was  Nathan  Robertson,  who 
■moved  from  Kentucky  to  Charlestown  in  1799."— Stevens's  "  History  of  Methodism," 
Vol.  IV.,  pp.  152,  153. 

•4  Cartwright  seems  to  have  considered  the  society  he  organized  in  1808,  in  the  Busroe 
settlement,  the  first  among  the  Methodists.     See  his  "Autobiography,"  p.  55. 

5  See  HoUiday's  "  Methodism  in  Indiana,"  pp.  37,  38. 

6  This  society  was  divided  into  "Upper"  and  "Lower"  Indiana  churches  by  Vin- 
cennes Presbytery,  April  6,  1842.  The  former  retains  its  original  designation.  The 
latter  became  the  "Indiana"  church  by  act  of  Presbytery,  April  15,  1847.  The  two 
fragments  have  equal  claims  to  antiquity.  A  third  division  of  the  membership  of  the 
original  society  became  the  nucleus  of  the  church  which  was  organized  in  the  town  of 


Vi 


mcennes  m 


42  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANIS.M. 

fathers  had  been  kept  in  mind,  and  they  were  now  to  be 
greatly  favored  in  securing  a  pastor  whom  they  could  love 
and  trust,  and  for  many  years  retain  in  a  most  successful 


Samuel  Thornton  Scott,  to  whom  belongs  the  dis- 
tinction of  having  first  settled  as  a  pastor  within  the  terri- 
tory, came  to  the  "Indiana"  church  in  1807.  His  early 
years  were  spent  in  Woodford  County,  Ky. ,  near  Lexing- 
ton, where  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Dunlap.  He  pur- 
sued a  literary  course  at  Transylvania  Academy  and 
studied  divinity  with  Dr.  James  Blythe.  Before  the  com- 
pletion of  his  education  he  came  to  Vincennes  as  a  teacher. 
To  this  work  he  was  probably  summoned  by  former  ac- 
quaintances, now  removed  to  the  neighborhood  from 
Kentucky — the  Dennisons  from  near  Lexington  and  the 
Buckanans  from  Gallatin  County.^  He  thus  became,  if  we 
except  the  French  priests,  one  of  the  first  of  the  great  army 
of  Indiana  schoolmasters.  December  31,  1803,  he  received 
licensure  from  West  Lexington  Presbytery,  and  having 
preached  at  various  places  within  its  bounds  by  Presby- 
terial  appointment,  he  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of 
Mount  Pleasant  church  December  28,  1805.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  his  Presbytery  in  October,  1807,  he  is  reported 
absent  upon  a  missionary  tour  to  Knox  County,  Ind., 
whither  the  Assembly  of  1806  had  commissioned  him  for 
three  months.  This  was  probably  the  occasion  upon 
which,  while  fording  the  west  fork  of  White  River,  he  lost 
his  hat  and  his  shoe,  and  was  restored  to  a  clerical  and 
presentable  condition  by  General  Harrison,  to  whom  he 
had  letters  of  introduction.  Returning  home  Mr.  Scott  at 
once  arranged  his  affairs  for  a  permanent  removal  to  In- 
diana. He  was  dismissed  from  the  pastorate  of  the 
Mount  Pleasant  church  October  10,  1808,  and  soon  after 

1  "  Life  and  Times  of  Stephen  Bliss,"  by  S.  C.  Baldridge,  p.  71. 


THE    FIRST    MISSIONARIES.  43 

began  the  twenty  years  of  continuous  service  in  Knox 
County,  which  only  his  death,  December  30,  1827,  ter- 
minated. 

Mr.  Scott  long  held  his  post  in  the  wilderness  alone, 
unsupported  except  by  brethren  whom  on  special  occa- 
sions he  called  from  Kentucky.  He  "  had  erected  a  rude 
platform  in  the  woods,  and  supplied  a  plentiful  amount  of 
rustic  benches,  and  thither  his  fervent  spirit  had  gathered 
the  people  for  religious  worship.  Here  in  this  sequestered 
sylvan  sanctuary  God  had  been  pleased  to  show  his  faithful 
servant  his  glory  in  times  of  spiritual  blessings,  and  the 
whole  romantic  scene  was  sacred. ' ' '  This  outdoor  pulpit 
was  known  as  "the  Presbyterian  Stand."  Here  it  was 
that  McGready  sometimes  addressed  and  overpowered 
great  congregations.^  Subsequently,  under  the  pastor's 
diligent  labors,  there  were  three  preaching  stations  in  his 
parish,  and  no  doubt  the  toil  imposed  by  his  isolation  in  so 
wide  a  field  shortened  his  days. 

This  patriarch  of  Indiana  pastors  was  of  a  very  social 
temperament,  a  fine  talker,  and  a  good  preacher.  With 
old  and  young  he  was  always  a  favorite.  He  diligently 
catechized  the  children,  meeting  them  on  Saturdays  at  pri- 
vate houses.^  So  scrupulous  was  he  in  observing  the 
Sabbath  that  he  once  declined  a  carefully-dressed  haunch 
of  venison,  prepared  for  him  by  a  parishioner  who  had  had 
a  Sunday  hunt,  and  thereby  secured  the  man's  life-long 
enmity.  He  was  fond  of  "log-rollings"  and  "  corn- 
huskings,"  where,  if  occasion  permitted,  he  was  sure  to 
perpetrate  some  innocent  practical  joke.      By  one^  whom 

1  "  Life  and  Times  of  Stephen  Bliss,"  p.  75. 

2  The  records  indicate  that  meetings  of  the  session  previous  to  1815  were  held  at 
"the  Stand." 

3  At  one  of  these  appointments  he  was  late.  On  his  arrival  he  explained  that  he  had 
sent  his  only  hat  to  Vincennes  to  be  pressed,  and  forgetting  it  until  the  hour  of  starting, 
had  been  compelled  to  despatch  a  messenger  to  a  colored  man,  his  nearest  neighbor,  to 
borrow  a  hat. 

4  The  Rev.  John  Crozier. 


44  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

in  1825  he  baptized  at  Paris,  111.,  he  is  remembered  as  a 
man  of  medium  height,  of  rather  full  habit,  about  fifty 
years  of  age,  and  wearing  goggles. 

Mr.  Scott's  family  consisted  of  two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters, Sallie  Anne,  Alexander  Dunlap,  Nancy  Anne,  and 
Samuel  Thornton.  The  younger  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  her  father's  successor,  the  Rev.  Samuel  R.  Alexan- 
der. She  died  at  the  homestead,  two  and  one  half  miles 
northeast  of  Vincennes,  the  estate  having  passed  into  the 
possession  of  her  husband/ 

1  The  burning  of  the  old  parsonage  destroyed  many  valuable  MSB.,  with  which  have 
perished  authentic  details  of  Mr.  Scott's  career  and  of  the  local  history.  Mr.  Alexander 
coming  to  the  parish  in  1828,  the  year  after  the  death  of  Scott,  continued  to  cultivate 
either  the  whole  or  a  portion  of  the  field  for  more  than  thirty  years  and  until  age  com- 
pelled his  retirement.     His  death  occurred  February  17,  1S84. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Hindrances  and  Disorders  Incident  to  War. 
1807-1814. 

Naturally  the  first  foundations  were  laid  by  the  Pres- 
byterians in  the  midst  of  the  oldest  community  in  the 
territory,  comprising  as  it  did  among  its  prominent  citizens 
representatives  of  families  beyond  the  southern  border 
which  had  been  conspicuous  for  their  attachment  to  the 
church.  It  will,  however,  be  remembered  that  while  the 
French  occupancy  of  Vincennes  long  preceded  any  other 
settlement  by  the  whites  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio, 
there  was  at  a  very  early  day  a  considerable  population 
upon  the  "Clark  grants,"  comprising  nearly  all  of  Clark 
County.  There,  not  far  from  Charlestown,  a  second  little 
band  of  Presbyterians  was  gathered  in  1807.^  It  was 
called  the  "Palmyra"  church,  in  accordance  with  what 
seems  to  have  been  a  decided  taste  for  antiquities  in  that 
region,  where  Bethlehem,  Memphis,  and  Utica  still  hold 
their  place  amidst  such  modern  and  homely  names  as 
Muddy  Fork  and  Bennetsville.  This  organization,  which 
soon  became  extinct  and  was  merged  in  the  later  society  at 
Charlestown,  was  effected  by  the  Rev.  James  Vance,  who 
had  been  associated  with  Cameron  in  the  previous  unful- 
filled commission  to  Indiana  from  Transylvania  Presbytery. 
Early  in  1807  Samuel  B.  Robertson  was  again  appointed 
by  the  Presbytery  "to  attend  in  Knox  County,  Indiana 
territory,  in  order  to  answer  the  prayer  of  a  petition  from 
that  place.  "^      In  1809  James  H.  Dickey,  bearing  a  name 

1  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,"  p.  4. 

2  "  Minutes  Transylvania  Presbytery,"  Vol.  III.,  p.  184. 

45 


46  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

which  his  kinsman  was  by  and  by  to  render  famous  in  the 
annals  of  the  Indiana  church,  made  a  hasty  missionary  tour 
to  the  territory,  crossing  the  border  from  Kentucky,  the 
Egypt  whose  granaries  then  and  for  years  afterward  gener- 
ously supplied  the  famine  of  the  Word. 

From  a  more  distant  region,  however,  a  stalwart  young 
minister  came  in  18 10,  and  contrary  to  his  design  was  de- 
tained at  Lawrenceburgh.  He  was  the  second  Presbyterian 
clergyman  who  settled  within  the  state,  and  on  that  account, 
as  well  as  for  his  ability  and  zeal,  deserves  a  recognition 
which  he  has  hitherto  failed  to  receive.  ^ 

Samuel  Baldridge,  the  third  of  twelve  children  of 
Scotch-Irish  parents,  John  and  Margaret  (Ferrel)  Bald- 
ridge, was  born  near  Guilford  Court  House,  N.  C. ,  March 
21,  1780.  When  he  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age  the 
family  removed  to  Cook  County,  Tenn. ,  and  settled  on  the 
French  Broad  River.  As  he  approached  manhood  his 
brother  James,  the  eldest  of  the  children,  in  company  with 
him  built  a  saw  and  grist-mill  on  Clear  Creek,  an  affluent 
of  the  French  Broad.  At  this  period  occurred  his  conver- 
sion. Thereupon  making  known  a  desire  to  connect  him- 
self with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  his  father,  a  determined 
adherent  of  the  Covenanters,  interposed,  and  assured  his 
son  that  such  a  step  should  disinherit  him.  As  Samuel 
persisted  in  following  his  convictions  of  duty  the  threat  was 
executed. 

In  1778  Samuel  Doak,  a  man  of  strong  faith  and  ardent 
zeal,  having  graduated  at  Princeton  three  years  before, 
settled  on  the  Holston,  in  the  midst  of  a  few  families  of 
Scotch-Irish  emigrants  from  Virginia,  organized  a  church, 
and  in  a  log  building  on  his  farm  opened  a  school. 
Thither,  about  thirty  miles  from  home,  the  young  convert 
went,    and    in    due    time    graduated    from    Dr.    Doak's 

I  There  is  no  mention  even  of  his  name   by  Dickey,  Johnston,  or  the  other  local 
historians.   See,  however,  Monfort's  "  Presbyterianism  North  of  the  Ohio,''  pp.  8,  lo. 


HINDRANCES    INCIDENT    TO    WAR.  aj 

academy,   already  chartered  and  known  as  "Washing-ton 
College."'       On    the    first   Tuesday  in    September,    1805 
bemg  a  candidate  under  the  care  of  Abingdon  Presbytery' 
he    and  two  others,    Reuben   White   and    Alexander  M.' 
Nelson,  were  "directed  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  study 
of  divinity  under  the  inspection  of  some  member  or  mem- 
bers   of   Presbytery    and  they   were    allowed    to    prepare 
and  deliver  exhortations.'"''     January  23,  1806,  he  married 
Lucmda  Doak,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Doak,  a  lady  of 
attractive  person   and   of  unusual   intelligence   and  piety. 
He  was  licensed  at  Salem  church,  Washington  County,  the 
pastoral  charge  of  his  father-in-law,  on  the  5th  of  October, 
1807,  and  on  the  eleventh  of  the  subsequent  October  was 
ordamed    and    installed   pastor   of  the    Rock    Spring   and 
Glade  Spring  congregations. 

Meanwhile  his  father  had  removed,  in  1808,  to  Ohio, 
and  Mr.  Baldridge,  appointed  commissioner  to  the  General 
Assembly  in  1809,  visited  him  at  Hamilton.  The  beauty 
and  fertility  of  the  region,  together  with  his  growing 
aversion  to  slavery,  induced  the  young  man  to  resign  his 
pastorate  in  Tennessee  and  request  a  dismission  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Washington,  Synod  of  Kentucky.  With 
his  wife  and  two  children  he  came  across  the  great  wilder- 
ness of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  transporting  all  the 
household  effects  in  wagons.  They  reached  Lawrence- 
burgh,  Ind.,  in  safety  in  the  summer  of  1810,  and  were 
welcomed  there  by  old  friends  from  east  Tennessee.'     Mr. 

who? f  tf "  ^r'^r  T,?^"'^^"'^^"^  -  Presbyterian  "bishop"  in  Decatur  County 
whose  father's  "httle  red  house  "  at  Ripley.  Ohio,  was  a  famous  station  on  the  "  under 
ground  raUroad,"  and  whose  mother  was  a  Doak,  well  remembers  the  coming  of  h  s 
uncle  Baldndge,  on  his  bob-tail  bay  horse,  to  visit  at  the  Ripley  parsonage.  He  says 
that  at  the  Doak  Academy  ambition  was  stimulated  to  the  utmost  by  persona 
nvalry.     The  man  who  couid  first  hasten  through  the  curriculum  was  the  firsf  to  receive 

a,?d  la'mu'el  cT  ^'"\''"'  "'^  '"  '''''  ^^"'^  '°^  ^^"^^^'^^^  ^^^--"  J«'-^  Rankin 
and  Samuel  G.  Lowry,  whose  name  appears  later  in  the  Indiana  history.  By  the  hardest 
work  the  former  got  through  first  and  became  for  a  time  the  latter's  tutor. 

-  "  Minutes  Abingdon  Presbytery." 

3  Mr.  Chambers  had  been  a  ruling  elder  there. 


48  EARLY   INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Baldridge  was  induced  to  remain  in  the  settlement.  It 
was  missionary  ground.  The  fertile  valleys  of  the  Ohio 
and  Whitewater  were  attracting  a  large  and  enterprising 
population,  but  there  were  neither  church  organizations 
nor  houses  of  worship.  In  order  to  secure  a  maintenance 
the  missionary  procured  a  large  dwelling  and  opened  an 
English  classical  school,  like  his  former  preceptor  accus- 
toming his  pupils,  during  the  recitations  and  at  the  table, 
to  converse  in  Latin.  Before  he  had  connected  himself 
with  Washington  Presbytery  that  Presbytery  was  divided, 
October  ii,  1810,  and  Joshua  L.  Wilson,  Matthew  G. 
Wallace,  William  Robinson,  James  Welch,  and  himself 
were  constituted  into  the  Presbytery  of  Miami.  He  was 
appointed  to  supply  statedly  the  vacancies  at  Lawrence- 
burgh  and  Whitewater.  In  this  work  he  continued  for  two 
years,  maintaining  his  school  and  preaching  in  private 
houses  and  under  the  forest's  roof  as  he  found  oppor- 
tunity. He  also  studied  medicine  at  Lawrenceburgh,  and 
became  a  successful  physician,  with  a  considerable  practice. 
Presbytery  directed  him,  September  12,  1812,  to  spend 
two  weeks  in  the  vacancies  above  Dayton,  "the  barrens  of 
Ohio,"  at  his  discretion.  October  5,  1813,  he  was  dis- 
missed to  the  Presbytery  of  Washington,  which  received 
him  at  the  spring  meeting  of  the  following  year,  when, 
April,  1 814,  he  became  stated  supply  of  Washington  and 
London.  At  the  latter  place  he  had  several  students  in 
medicine.  In  181 5  he  supplied  London  and  Treacle's 
Creek.  He  was  dismissed  April  8,  1818,  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Lancaster,  and  the  following  spring  took  charge  of  the 
churches  of  Salt  Creek  (now  Chandlersville),  Buffalo  (now 
New  Cumberland),  and  Pleasant  Hill  (now  New  Con- 
cord), and  was  the  next  June  installed  as  pastor.  This 
relation  continued  until  April,  1823,  when  he  was  released 
from  Buffalo  and  Salt  Creek  congregations,  remaining  pas- 
tor of  the  Pleasant  Hill  church  for  another  year.      In  1824 


HINDRANCES    INCIDENT    TO    WAR.  49 

he  removed  to  Jeromeville,  whose  pulpit  he  suppHed. 
Here  he  built  a  residence,  apparently  designing  to  make 
the  place  a  permanent  home.  He  continued  a  lucrative 
practice  of  medicine.  He  also  supplied  the  Perrysville  and 
Rehoboth  congregations,  and  preached  occasionally  at 
many  other  points,  a  service  in  which  he  delighted.  But 
here  two  misfortunes  came.  August  18,  1825,  he  lost  his 
wife,  and  soon  after  was  compelled  to  relinquish  his  prop- 
erty, held  as  security  for  another's  debts. 

In  the  summer  of  1828,  having  previously,  May  25, 
1826,  been  united  in  marriage  with  Mary,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Coulter,  Esq. ,  of  Perrysville,  he  returned  to  Indi- 
ana and  settled  at  Eugene,  Vermilion  County.  April  4, 
1832,  he  was  dismissed  to  the  Presbytery  of  Vincennes, 
having  removed  to  "  Honey  Creek  parsonage"  and  taken 
charge  of  Honey  Creek  and  New  Hope  churches.  Says 
his  son  : ' 

My  first  recollections  are  connected  with  that  old  parsonage. 
It  was  a  hewed-log  building,  and  stood  at  the  edge  of  a  grove  of 
wild  cherry  and  mulberry  trees.  Fronting  a  wide  low  prairie,  it 
looked  out  toward  Sullivan,  then  known  as  Prairieton.  The  whole 
region  was  at  times  overflowed  by  the  Wabash  and  looked  like  a 
sea.  A  June  freshet  once  came  within  a  few  yards  of  the  door. 
In  this  romantic  and  secluded  spot  it  was  that  the  great  calamity 
of  Dr.  Baldridge's  life  occurred — an  attack  of  palsy.  He  had  just 
left  a  patient  and  was  mounting  his  horse  at  the  gate  when  the 
blow  fell.  He  was  taken  home  in  an  unconscious  state  and 
so  remained  for  several  weeks.  Subsequently  he  woke  as 
from  a  sleep.  When  he  was  able  to  sit  up  he  one  day  noticed 
the  books  in  his  library,  and  after  surveying  them  in  silence 
at  last  asked  what  they  were.  My  mother  tried  in  vain,  by 
reading  their  titles,  to  recall  them  to  his  mind.  He  subsequently 
asked  that  a  book  might  be  laid  upon  his  lap,  but  even  the  letters 
were  a  mystery.  My  mother  has  said  that  she  then  had  a  full  sense 
of  the  bitterness  of  her  grief,  and  that  she  could  never,  yielding  to 
his  importunity,   sit  down  with  a  book  to   teach  him  his  alphabet 

1  The  Rev.  Samuel  C.  Baldridge,  D.D.,  Hanover,  Ind.,  who  has  furnished  MSS.  for 
the  narrative  of  his  father's  Ufe. 


50  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

without  uncontrollable  weeping.  One  day,  however,  as  she  was 
going  through  the  weary  task  her  husband  suddenly  turned  to  her 
with  dilated  eyes  and  exclaimed,  "  I  see  it  all."  From  this  time 
the  past  gradually  yielded  up  its  lost  treasures.  But  his  power 
was  gone. 

He  now  removed  to  Paris,  III. ,  where  he  bought  a  farm 
and  lived  for  some  years.  He  afterward  exchanged  it  for 
land  within  the  bounds  of  New  Providence  church,  between 
Paris  and  Terre  Haute.  ' '  Here  the  family  lived  for  some 
years,  learning  how  God  can  supply  all  our  need.  '  He 
gave  us  bread  to  eat  and  raiment  to  put  on. '  ' '  About 
1840  Dr.  Baldridge  was  invited  to  the  church  in  Kalida, 
Putnam  County,  Ohio.  He  had  preached  occasionally 
before — "could  not  live  without  preaching" — but  had  no 
regular  work  since  1830.  For  a  time  he  also  preached  at 
Dillsborough,  Ind.  Thence,  about  1843,  he  removed  to  Ox- 
ford, Ohio,  to  give  a  son  the  advantages  of  the  university, 
but  thinking  that  the  president  w^as  too  little  emphatic 
in  his  attitude  toward  slavery,  he  left  Oxford  for  Hanover, 
Ind.,  in  1844.  Two  years  later  his  home  was  finally  broken 
up  by  the  death  of  his  wife,  who  had  exhibited  great  pru- 
dence and  cheerfulness  in  the  midst  of  trial,  and  he  found  a 
resting-place  at  the  house  of  his  son,  the  Rev.  Samuel  C. 
Baldridge,  where  he  died  February  29,  i860.  His  re- 
mains were  taken  to  Hanover,  where  they  lie  buried  with 
his  second  wife. 

Dr.  Baldridge  was  adapted  to  his  era.  It  was  easy  for 
him  to  move.  Attachment  to  localities  never  hindered  him. 
He  rejoiced  to  preach  in  new  and  destitute  regions,  in  pri- 
vate houses,  and  the  summer  woods.  There  are  abundant 
testimonies  to  the  power  and  ability  of  his  preaching.  At 
Jeromeville  his  overflowing  congregations  were  gathered 
from  the  whole  district  around,  many  walking  ten  miles  to 
hear  him.  After  the  lapse  of  sixty-six  years  a  sermon 
preached  in  a  private  house  near  Lawrenceburgh  was  re- 


HINDRANCES    INCIDENT    TO    WAR.  5 1 

membered  vividly  by  one  who  was  present,  perhaps  the 
sole  survivor.  He  was  recognized  by  his  fellow-laborers 
as  a  "born  missionary,"  and  his  zeal  and  energy  were 
honored  by  h'equent  appointments  to  the  most  arduous 
itinerant  labors.  He  accepted  joyfully  the  heat  and 
burden  of  the  day.  He  was  of  the  same  spirit,  had  the 
same  vigor  of  constitution  and  the  same  delight  in  preach- 
ing that  characterized  the  Gallaghers  and  Nelsons  and 
Hendersons — that  whole  generation  of  evangelists  that 
sprang  up  in  east  Tennessee  under  the  training  of  Dr. 
Doak.  "  I  have  heard  him  say,"  writes  his  son,  "  that  in 
his  prime  after  a  hard  day's  ride  as  a  physician  it  would 
rest  him  to  preach  in  the  evening." 

Dr.  Baldridge  was  an  accomplished  conversationalist. 
His  Irish  spirits  were  exuberant.  His  life  began  with  bril- 
liant promise,  but  the  sun  went  down  at  noon.  With  the 
single  exception  of  Mr.  Scott,  at  Vincennes,  he  was  the 
first  Presbyterian  minister  to  become  a  resident  of  Indiana. 
He  preceded  William  Robinson  nearly  four  years. 

In  181 1  (as  also  in  1819)  the  name  of  Stephen 
BovELLE  appears  as  a  missionary  to  the  state  from  the 
General  Assembly.  He  had  received  licensure  October 
10,  1794,  from  Transylvania  Presbytery,  but  his  career 
was  a  checkered  one. ' 

The  following  year  the  Charlestown  church  in  Clark 
County  was  constituted  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Lapsley,  a 
nephew  of  Cleland,  an  amiable  young  man,  and  a  recent 
graduate  of  Lexington,  Va.^  But  society  was  already  in 
commotion  on  account  of  the  opening  war  with  Great  Brit- 
ain, a  strife  which  sterner  motives  than  those  of  patriotism 
brought  home  to  the  scattered  settlements  in  the  Ohio 
valley.     The  forests  were  still  the  haunts  of  savages,  willing 

1  "  Minutes  Transylvania  Presbytery,"  Vol.  II.,  pp.  139,  178,  186,  187. 

2  "  Life  of  Cleland,"  p.  76. 


52  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

now,  as  often  before,  to  sell  themselves  for  British  promises 
to  Britain's  emissaries.  It  was  not  a  period  for  successful 
evangelistic  labor.  The  war,  however,  summoned  from 
Cincinnati  to  Fort  Wayne  a  young  man  whose  name  has 
just  been  mentioned  among  the  original  members  of 
Miami  Presbytery.  "When  General  Harrison,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1812,  marched  to  the  relief  of  the  garrison  here, 
then  besieged  by  the  Indians,  the  expedition  was  accom- 
panied," says  Judge  Jesse  L.  Williams,  "by  Rev.  Mat- 
thew G.  Wallace,  as  chaplain  of  the  army.  If,  as  may  be 
presumed,  he  preached  to  the  soldiers  while  here,  his  was 
the  first  proclamation  of  the  gospel,  in  Protestant  form,  on 
this  ground. ' ' '  More  than  a  century  earlier  the  voice  of  the 
Romish  priest  had  doubtless  been  heard  at  "Kekionga," 
and  the  rites  of  religion  had  been  celebrated  there,  but  not 
until  the  French  had  long  been  expelled  and  the  English 
were  once  more  struggling  for  their  lost  dominion  was  the 
Bible  brought  by  a  Protestant  minister  to  this  ancient 
home  of  the  red  man. 

Matthew  G.  Wallace  afterward  returned  to  Indiana 
to  hold  for  years  an  important  pastorate.  A  licenciate  of 
New  Castle  Presbytery,  the  successor  of  Peter  Wilson  at 
Cincinnati,  where  he  preached  from  April,  1800,  to  April, 
1804,  previous  to  1809  he  had  supplied  the  churches  at 
Springfield  and  Hambleton,  and  in  1814  he  had  charge  of 
the  congregations  at  Hamilton,  Seven  Mile,  and  Dick's 
Creek,  Ohio.' 

About  the  year  1831  two  brothers  named  Wallace  were  suc- 
cessfully operating  a  saw-mill  near  where  now  stands  Hulman's 
mammoth  distillery  [Terre  Haute],  and  it  having  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  people  that  their  father  was  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  a  subscription  was  circulated  and  a  year's  salary  made 
up  whereupon  the   Rev.    Matthew   G.    Wallace   was   invited   to 

1  "  Historical  Sketch  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Fort  Wayne,"  p.  12. 

2  Gillett's  "  History,"  Vol.  II.,  pp.  126,  151. 


HINDRANXES    INCIDENT    TO    WAR.  53 

preach  for  one  year.  This  was  all  done  before  the  people  had 
ever  seen  Mr.  Wallace.  He  was  a  man  of  positive,  severe  char- 
acter and  kept  charge  of  the  church  under  many  embarrassments, 
and  notwithstanding  various  divisions,  for  nearly  twenty  years. ^ 

In  the  winter  of  1 850-1,  overtaken  by  the  infirmities  of 
age,  Mr.  Wallace  resigned  his  pastorate,  his  death  oc- 
curring July  15,  1854. 

Though  McGready,  Robertson,  Kemper,  Vance,  James 
H.  Dickey,  Bovelle,  Lapsley,  and  Wallace  occasionally 
preached  the  gospel  in  the  territory  during  the  seven 
years  subsequent  to  Scott's  settlement  at  Vincennes,  and 
though  for  two  years  Baldridge  was  residing  at  Lawrence- 
burgh,  it  is  evident  that  little  was  accomplished  or 
attempted  in  behalf  of  the  people  north  of  the  Ohio  until 
peace  was  reestablished.  Under  its  pastor's  care  the 
"Indiana"  church  prospered  in  a  quiet  w^ay,  but  the 
Palmyra  society  died  and  the  Charlestown  flock  remained 
shepherdless.  No  doubt  the  accounts  preserved  by  Bishop 
and  Davidson^  of  the  irreligion  and  disorder  which  char- 
acterized this  period  in  Kentucky  might  be  repeated  wuth 
increased  emphasis  concerning  the  newer  Indiana  settle- 
ments. A  Kentucky  town  containing  two  or  three  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  and  which  ten  years  after  sustained  three 
large  churches,  could  not  now  collect  a  congregation  for 
a  missionary  who  visited  it. 

The  negroes  were  standing  in  the  streets  laughing  and  swear- 
ing ;  the  boys  playing  and  hallooing ;  the  men  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  town  shooting  at  pigeons,  of  which  immense  flocks  were  fly- 
ing over  the  place ;  the  more  respectable  class  of  gentlemen  riding 
out  for  amusement.  In  short,  the  only  peculiar  mark  of  attention 
by  which  the  Sabbath  day  was  distinguished  was  that  there  was 
more  noise,  more  profanity,  and  more  wickedness  than  on  any 
other  day  of  the  seven. 

1  Sterrett's  MS.  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Terra  Haute." 

2  "  Memoir  of  Rice/'  p.  log.  Cf.  Davidson's  "Kentucky,"  Chap  XI.  See  also 
"  The  Western  Sketch-Book,"  by  Rev.  James  Gallagher,  pp.  21,  22. 


54  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

This  was  the  experience  of  Samuel  J.  Mills,  the  leader  of 
the  praying  band  at  Williams  College,  from  which  sprang 
our  modern  missions  to  the  heathen  world,  and  who,  in 
1814-5,  with  Daniel  Smith,  accomplished,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Massachusetts  Missionary  Society,  a  tour  of 
exploration  through  ' '  that  part  of  the  United  States  which 
lies  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains."^  He  says  in  his 
report  : 

Indiana,  notwithstanding  the  war,  is  peopling-  very  fast.  Its  set- 
tlements are  bursting  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left.  In 
1810  there  were  in  the  territory  24,500  inhabitants;  now  they  are 
computed  by  the  governor  at  35,000,  by  others  at  30,000,  and  by 
some  at  50,000.  Its  principal  settlements  are  on  the  Miami  and 
Whitewater,  on  the  Ohio  (extending  in  some  places  twenty  miles 
back),  and  on  the  Wabash  and  White  Rivers.  Many  small  neigh- 
borhoods have  received  an  addition  of  from  twenty  to  forty  fami- 
lies during  the  last  summer.  When  we  entered  this  territory 
there  was  but  one  Presbyterian  clergyman  in  it,  Mr.  Scott  of  Vin- 
cennes.  He  was  valiantly  maintaining  his  post  there  for  six  years 
past.  He  has  three  places  of  preaching,  and  although  he  has  not 
been  favored  with  an  extensive  revival,  yet  his  labors  have  been 
blessed  to  the  edification  of  his  congregations.  His  church  con- 
sists of  about  seventy  members.  Between  the  forks  of  White 
River  there  is  also  a  Presbyterian  congregation  in  which  there  are 
about  thirty  communicants,  and  we  have  lately  heard  that  a 
clergyman  has  settled  among  them.^  In  the  state  of  Ohio  we  saw 
the  Rev.  William  Robinson.  He  informed  us  that  he  expected 
soon  to  remove  to  the  territory  and  establish  himself  at  Madison 
on  the  Ohio.      It  is  probable,  then,  that  there  are  now  three  Pres- 

1  Associated  with  John  F.  Schermerhorn,  Mills  had  attempted  a  similar  service  two 
years  earlier.  See  "  A  Correct  View  of  that  part  of  the  United  States  which  lies  west  of 
the  Allegheny  Mountains,  with  regard  to  Religion  and  Morals,"  Hartford,  1814.  In 
this  rare  pamphlet,  prepared  almost  entirely  from  Schermerhom's  manuscripts,  there  is 
but  slight  reference  to  Indiana.  "The  best  lands  in  this  territory' are  still  claimed  by 
the  Indians.  .  .  Between  the  falls  of  Ohio  and  Vincennes  there  are  a  few  houses. 
-  .  There  is  only  one  Presbyterian  minister  in  this  rapidly-settling  territory." — Pp. 
30,  31- 

2  This  was  the  Washington  church,  Davies  County,  established  by  Samuel  T.  Scott  in 
August  of  the  previous  year  (1814),  the  fourth  organization  in  the  territory.  The  Rev. 
John  M.  Dickey  had  spent  a  few  Sabbaths  with  the  society  in  December,  1S14,  but  he 
was  not  yet  settled  there. 


HINDRANCES    INCIDENT    TO    WAR.  55 

byterian  clergymen  in  the  territory.  But  what  are  they  for  the 
supply  of  so  many  thousands?  They  are  obliged  to  provide  prin- 
cipally for  their  own  support,  by  keeping  school  through  the  week 
or  by  manual  labor.  They  have  therefore  very  little  time  to 
itinerate.  The  settlements  on  the  Miami  and  Whitewater  we  did 
not  visit,  but  were  informed  by  missionaries  who  have  occasion- 
ally labored  there  that  they  afford  promising  fields  of  usefulness. 
Probably  congregations  might  be  formed  there.  Places  of  preach- 
ing where  considerable  numbers  of  people  would  assemble 
might  be  established  with  short  intervals  from  Lawrenceburgh, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  to  Jeffersonville  on  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Falls  are  two  other  flourishing  little 
villages,  Charlestown  and  New  Albany.  It  is  of  high  importance 
that  the  standard  of  the  truth  should  be  immediately  planted 
there,  for  these  places  or  some  of  them  must  soon  become  rich 
and  populous  towns.  At  Charlestown  there  is  a  small  Presbyte-  ▼ 
rian  church.  But  it  languishes  for  want  of  the  bread  and  of  the 
water  of  life.  Leaving  the  river  and  proceeding  a  little  further 
west  we  came  to  other  flourishing  settlements.  Corydon  is  the 
present  seat  of  government  for  the  territory.  Salem,  a  county 
seat,  has  near  it  three  other  places  where  churches  might  be 
formed.  These  settlements  are  yet  in  their  infancy.  It  is  said, 
however,  that  they  are  able  to  support  a  minister.  And  yet  there 
are  people  here  who  for  five  years  past  have  not  seen  the  face  of  a 
Presbyterian  clergyman.  Their  hearts  have  been  grieved  at  the 
neglect  of  their  brethren  to  send  them  any  aid.  .  .  .  When 
they  saw  us  they  shed  tears  of  joy.  In  that  part  of  the  territory  that 
lies  on  the  Wabash  there  are  settlements  both  above  and  below 
Vincennes  that  deserve  the  attention  of  missionary  bodies,  partic- 
ularly those  above,  on  Bussaron.  An  immense  number  of  settlers 
have  been  crowding  out  on  that  frontier  during  the  last  season. 

We  have  now  given  a  brief  view  of  the  principal  settlements  in 
the  Indiana  territory.  If  one  or  two  faithful  missionaries  could  be 
sent  into  it  to  travel  through  it  and  search  it  out,  to  collect  con- 
gregations and  organize  churches,  who  can  tell  how  much  good 
might  be  done  ?  They  might  become  the  fathers  of  the  churches 
there.     Thousands  would  rise  up  hereafter  and  call  them  blessed. ^ 

The  date   of  this   report   of   Mills   is  January  20,  18 15. 

1  "  Report  of  a  Missionary  Tour  through  that  part  of  the  United  States  which  lies 
west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  performed  under  the  direction  of  the  Massachusetts 
Missionary  Society  by  Samuel  J.  Mills  and  Daniel  Smith,"  Andover,  1815,  pp.  15,  16. 


56  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

What  was  the  reUgious  condition  of  Indiana  just  as  the 
second  war  with  Great  Britain  was  closing  he  presents  with 
evident  accuracy. 

In  December,  1814,  William  Robinson,  whom  Mills 
"saw  in  Ohio,"  reached  Indiana.  Though  directly  from 
Miami  Presbytery  no  doubt  it  was  his  former  association 
with  Kentucky  ministers  who  had  forded  the  Indiana 
streams  and  heard  the  bark  of  the  Indiana  wolves  that 
turned  him  westward.  He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  but, 
coming  to  America  with  his  father  when  a  child,  he  found 
a  home  in  Pennsylvania. '  There  he  learned  the  wheel- 
wright's  trade,  which  enabled  him  afterward  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  a  literary  course  at  Washington,  Pa.  About 
the  year  1792  he  emigrated  to  Kentucky,  where  he  studied 
theology  under  the  tutorship  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Finley. 
He  was  taken  under  the  care  of  Transylvania  Presbytery, 
October  3,  1793,  and  was  ordained  over  the  Mount 
Pleasant  and  Indian  Creek  churches,  August  11,  1796.^ 
These  churches  he  had  himself  organized  soon  after  his 
licensure  and  he  continued  to  preach  to  them  through  the 
memorable  revival  of  1800.  On  the  13th  of  August,  1799, 
he  married  Miss  Esther  Grey,  a  member  of  the  Mount 
Pleasant  congregation. 

In  the  autumn  of  1803  he  removed  to  Montgomery 
County,  Ohio,  and  immediately  organized  the  churches  of 
Dayton  and  Sugar  Creek.  The  following  year  he  organ- 
ized the  Honey  Creek  society  and  labored  as  its  minister 
until  1810,^  when  he  settled  at  Lebanon,  Warren  County. 
Between  the  congregation  there  and  at  Monger's  settle- 
ment his  time  was  equally  divided.      At  Lebanon  he  was 

1  He  was  a  member  of  the  "  Buffalo  congregation  "  (Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  p.  121). 

2  "Minutes  Transylvania  Presbytery,"  Vol.  II. ,  p.  107,  and  filed  papers.     "Minutes 
West  Lexington  Presbytery,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  76,  95.     Cited  by  Davidson. 

3  Gillett's  "  History,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  126. 


HINDRA^XES    INCIDENT    TO    WAR.  57 

also  engaged  successfully  as  a  teacher,  some  of  his  pupils 
afterward  attaining  high  positions. 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  18 14  that  Mr.  Robinson  "came 
to  the  village  of  Madison  to  teach,  and  was  soon  engaged 
by  the  handful  of  Presbyterians  here  to  preach  to  them."' 
The  following  year  he  organized  a  church  and  gathered  a 
congregation.  There  was  at  the  time  no  house  of  wor- 
ship^ and  he  was  accustomed  to  preach  in  what  some  of  the 
older  generation  still  remember  as  the  "buckeye"  court- 
house. He  also  continued  to  maintain  his  school.^  Here 
and  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  especially  at  South  Han- 
over, his  work  proceeded  until  18 19.  He  then  settled  in 
Bethlehem,  Clark  County.  In  that  village  and  in  the  sur- 
rounding district  he  preached  regularly  for  two  or  three 
years,  but  in  1822  a  dropsical  malady  proved  so  severe 
that  he  was  almost  entirely  disabled  for  ministerial  work. 
Sometimes,  however,  when  unable  to  stand,  he  would  de- 
liver the  gospel  message  from  his  pulpit  chair.  The  dis- 
ease making  constant  progress,  he  was  at  last  rendered 
completely  helpless,  and  in  this  condition  he  lingered  for 
two  or  three  years,  until  March  28,  1827,  when,  at  a  good 
old  age,  he  died.  He  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery 
near  Bethlehem.  It  was  with  difificulty  that  the  unmarked 
grave  was  recently  identified." 

Mr.  Robinson  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  Salem 
Presbytery.     He  was  also  one  of  the  four  ministers  set  off 

1  Simpson's  "  History  of  the  First  Church,  Madison,"  p.  i. 

2  There  were  but  two  Presbyterian  meeting-houses  in  the  territory,  both  of  logs  and 
both  near  Vincennes  in  the  "  Indiana  "  parish.  The  first  residence  in  Madison  was 
built  in  1809,  but  in  1709  Vincennes  was  a  town. 

3  Mrs.  James  H.  Johnston  was  one  of  his  pupils. 

4  The  minister  upon  the  field  wrote  April,  1876  :  "  I  can  find  no  one  who  is  able  to 
point  me  to  his  grave.  I  found  an  ancient-looking  grave,  at  the  head  of  which  there  is 
a  rough  native  limestone  with  the  inscription,  '  J.  J.  R.,  1835,'  supposed  to  be  for  one  of 
his  sons.  By  the  side  of  it  is  a  grave  very  much  sunken,  at  the  head  of  which  is  a 
small  stone  in  its  rough  native  state  and  uninscribed.  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  grave 
of  the  Rev.  William  Robinson."  According  to  the  later  testimony  of  a  member  of  the 
family  this  surmise  is  correct. 


58  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

to  form  Madison  Presbytery,  and  at  its  first  meeting, 
April  7,  1826,  he  preached  the  opening  sermon  from 
Jeremiah  xlviii. :   10. 

Like  other  pioneers,  he  suffered  many  privations,  but 
happily  he  had  been  accustomed  in  early  life  to  manual 
toil.  Thus  he  was  able  to  supplement  the  meager  minis- 
terial support  while  it  continued,  and  afterward,  when 
even  that  failed  him  with  his  failing  health,  his  mechanical 
skill  was  almost  his  sole  reliance.  A  wheelwright  in  his 
youth,  in  the  "Buffalo  congregation,"  Pennsylvania,  in 
his  old  age,  at  Bethlehem,  he  turned  to  wool-carding.  At 
various  times  he  availed  himself  also  of  the  scanty  fees  of  a 
schoolmaster.  But  with  thirteen  children  to  maintain  it  is 
not  surprising  that  ' '  the  family  sometimes  felt  the  pinching 
hand  of  poverty."  The  ministers  of  that  day,  doing  their 
utmost  to  earn  the  opportunity  of  preaching  the  gospel,  were 
content  if  they  succeeded  in  saving  those  dependent  on  them 
from  actual  want. 

During  all  his  residence  in  Indiana  Mr.  Robinson  seems 
to  have  also  been  hindered  by  feeble  health.  A  pupil  at 
Madison  remembers  his  distressing  cough  in  the  school- 
room, his  tall  spare  frame  and  pale  face  ;  and  when,  a  few 
years  later,  he  transferred  his  residence  to  Bethlehem,  he 
was  soon  attacked  by  the  disease  which  terminated  his  life. 
It  will  therefore  be  easy  to  account  for  the  statement  of  one 
who  knew  him  at  Madison,'  that  "although  living  there 
several  years  he  preached  but  little  in  the  town"  ;  and  for 
the  impression  of  another  that  he  was  ' '  less  engaged  than 
some  of  the  ministers  of  his  time  in  missionary  tours.  "^ 

The  qualities  of  the  man  were  those  which  a  Scotch-Irish 
parentage  so  commonly  implies.      He  was  sturdy  and  pos- 

1  Dr.  McClure. 

2  He  is  said  to  have  made  two  journeys,  however,  through  destitute  regions  of  the 
state.  The  only  society  constituted  by  him,  according  to  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,"  was 
the  church  at  Madison. 


HINDRANCES    INCIDENT    TO    WAR.  59 

sibly  in  some  instances  stubborn  and  abrupt.  Something 
of  the  old-country  ideas  as  to  the  rights  of  a  parish  minister 
may  have  been  born  in  him,  and  he  did  not  care  to  have 
his  labors  supplemented  by  intruders,  however  respectable 
their  commissions.  A  young  man  who  ventured  into  the 
place  in  the  winter  of  18 18-9,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
General  Assembly's  Committee  of  Missions,  was  not 
warmly  welcomed  by  the  "incumbent."  The  minister 
in  possession  could  not  discern  the  necessity  of  the  mission- 
ary's visit  nor  the  value  of  his  labors. 

There  was  something  of  the  same  independent  judgment 
in  Mr.  Robinson's  attitude  toward  the  new  movement  to 
promote  total  abstinence.  The  reform  had  few  supporters, 
and  among  clergymen  in  the  woods  it  was  not  unusual 
to  indulge  in  a  moderate  daily  dram/  Mr.  Robinson's 
indulgence,  according  to  abundant  testimony,  was  not  at 
all  beyond  what  the  habits  of  the  day  fully  approved,  but 
his  liberty,  such  as  it  was,  he  was  disposed  to  defend.  In 
a  neighboring  pulpit  it  happened  that  the  cause  of  temper- 
ance had  a  very  zealous  and  able  advocate.^  From  that 
quarter  the  whisky  barrel  got  many  a  rap.  When  the 
echoes  reached  "Father  Robinson"  he  declared  that  his 
brother  "might  preach  against  whisky  if  he  pleased,  but 
as  for  himself  he  would  drink  it." 

There  was  also  a  trace  of  Scotch-Irish  thriftiness  in  his 
character.  It  seems  that  at  one  time  he  had  a  little  ' '  store ' ' 
in  Madison.^  "  By  secular  employments  he  made  much  of 
his  small  salary,"  says  one.  Some  of  his  neighbors,  per- 
haps less  prudent  themselves,  thought  he  carried  his  thrifty 
methods  too  far.  But  such  devices  were  a  necessity  in  those 
days,  and  all  the  pioneers  were  obliged  to  work  their  way 

1  Cf.  Prime's  "  Memoirs  of  Goodell,''  pp.  18-21. 

2  We  are  fortunate  in  having  a  brief  notice  of  Mr.  Robinson  from  the  MSS.  of  Father 
Dickey,  who  relates  this  incident  and  who  was  probably  himself  the  preacher  referred  to. 

3  This  is  the  impression  of  Dr.  McClure. 


6o  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

to  a  Sunday  pulpit,  or  a  "  sacramental  four-days'  meeting," 
or  a  protracted  preaching  tour,  through  much  intermediate 
"  weariness  and  painfulness  "  on  the  farm  or  in  the  shop  or 
school/  If  there  was  any  mistake  in  Mr.  Robinson's  case 
it  was  in  his  looking  less  than  some  are  inclined  to  do  for 
the  falling  of  manna  from  heaven  for  his  hungry  children. 
His  habits  no  doubt  prevented  those  frequent  and  protracted 
missionary  journeys  which  extended  so  widely  the  useful- 
ness of  many  ministers  of  that  day. 

As  a  preacher  Mr.  Robinson,  while  not  brilliant,  had  ac- 
knowledged elements  of  power.  He  must  have  retained 
something  of  the  unction  of  the  Kentucky  revival  through 
which  he  labored.  Impenitent  men  were  accustomed  to 
say  :  "He  cuts  to  the  heart.  No  sermons  I  hear  trouble 
me  like  his.     There  is  no  getting  away  from  them. ' '  ^ 

1  Cf.  "  Report  of  Smith  and  Mills's  Tour,"  p.  i6. 

2  MS.  of  the  Rev.  John  M.  Dickey. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  War  Over  and  the  Work  Advanced. 
1815. 

The  war  was  now  over.  The  movement  of  immigrants 
to  Indiana,  already  in  progress  according  to  Mills's  report, 
notwithstanding  the  disorders  and  perils  of  the  frontier, 
with  the  coming  of  peace  received  a  fresh  impulse.  There 
was  increased  necessity  for  missionary  effort  and  the  call 
was  promptly  answered.  In  1815  the  General  Assembly 
sent  to  the  territory,  for  brief  periods  of  service,  Daniel 
Gray,  from  the  Carolinas,  Joseph  Anderson,  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian,  and  James  Welch,  of  Transylvania  Presbytery. 
The  Pittsburg  Missionary  Society  was  also  instructed  to 
engage  others  for  the  field.  But  these  were  all  mere 
horseback  riders.  However  faithful,  their  labors  were  too 
transient  for  large  results. 

The  year  is  signalized  by  the  appearance  of  a  different 
company.  The  man  rides  a  horse,  indeed  ;  but  he  has  his 
wife  and  baby  behind  him,  and  his  bed  and  kitchen 
stuff  close  by.  He  comes  to  spend  his  life  for  the  people 
of  the  wilderness  and  to  make  his  grave  among  them.  It 
is  John  McElroy  Dickey — plain,  modest,  resolute,  tireless, 
true,  sweet-voiced  "  Father  Dickey."  "  His  name,"  says 
Gillett,  ' '  will  stand  deservedly  conspicuous  as  the  father  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Indiana."^ 

John  McElroy  Dickey  was  born  in  York  district, 
S.   C. ,  December   16,  1789.      His  grandfather,   of  Scotch- 

1  Gillett's  "  History,"  Vol.  II.,  p  397. 

61 


62  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Irish  descent,  came  from  Ireland  to  America  about  the 
year  1737.  His  father,  David  Dickey,  was  twice  married, 
first  on  March  28,  1775,  to  Margaret  Robeson,  who  died 
four  months  after  her  marriage  ;  and  subsequently,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1788,  to  Margaret  Stephenson.  John  was  the 
first-born  and  only  son  of  this  latter  marriage.  He  had 
four  sisters,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy. 

His  parents  were  in  humble  circumstances,  but  of  excel- 
lent Christian  character.  David  Dickey  was  a  man  of 
unusual  intelligence,  and,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
his  son,  had  remarkable  self-control.  "  I  never  saw  him 
angry  but  once,"  the  latter  declared  ;  "  nor  did  I  ever  see 
him  manifest  peevishness  or  fretfulness,  even  in  old  age." 
No  pressure  of  business  could  ever  induce  him  to  omit  the 
customary  household  worship  or  other  religious  duties. 
For  years  he  taught  the  neighborhood  school,  and  when 
John  was  but  three  years  of  age  carried  him  to  it  daily. 
Of  such  a  man  the  wife  was  a  true  helpmeet.  Like  Han- 
nah, she  had  given  her  son  to  God  and  formally  devoted 
him  to  his  service.  It  was  her  habit,  while  at  the  wheel 
spinning  flax  or  cotton,  to  gather  her  children  about  her 
for  instruction  in  the  Shorter  Catechism.  "To  my 
mother,"  said  Mr.  Dickey,  "more  than  to  any  other 
human  being,  am  I  indebted  for  what  I  am.  In  the  midst 
of  doubts,  fears,  discouragements,  and  toils,  it  has  often 
been  a  source  of  consolation  to  know  that  I  had  a  mother 
who,  in  covenant  with  God,  gave  me  up  to  him  and  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  If  all  mothers  were  like  her,  the 
Lord's  vineyard  could  not  long  lack  laborers." 

Under  such  a  home  influence,  the  children  all  grew 
insensibly  into  the  habits  of  piety,  and  were  unable  to  fix 
the  time  when  their  early  religious  experience  began.  The 
son  became  familiar  with  the  Scriptures,  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  and  Form  of  Government  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church — the  reading  books  of  that  day — and  the  founda- 


THE    WORK    ADVANCED.  63 

tions  were  permanently  laid  for  the  clear  theological  views 
of  his  subsequent  ministry.  At  four  years  of  age  it  is 
said  that  he  had  read  the  Bible  through.  Not  much  later 
he  was  acquiring  a  considerable  knowledge  of  mathe- 
matics, under  his  father's  instruction,  and  aided  by  a  coal 
and  pine  board.  He  eagerly  improved  his  humble  oppor- 
tunities for  study,  until  new  advantages  were  providen- 
tially opened  to  him  by  the  removal  of  the  family  north- 
ward in  1803.  David  Dickey,  though  reared  in  a  slave 
state,  looked  upon  slavery  as  a  curse,  and  sought  to  de- 
liver his  family  from  its  influence  ;  but  upon  leaving  South 
Carolina  he  found  himself  obliged  by  circumstances  to 
remain  in  Livingston  County,  Ky.  After  assisting  for  two 
or  three  years  in  the  labor  of  clearing  and  cultivating  his 
father's  land,  John  went  to  study  under  the  direction  of  his 
cousin,  the  Rev.  William  Dickey,^  about  a  mile  from  his 
own  home.  The  manse,  however,  had  but  one  room,  and 
the  proprietor  had  several  children  of  his  own.  Young 
Dickey,  therefore,  built  a  shelter  near  the  house  where  he 
might  keep  his  books  and  study.  Thus  he  read  Virgil 
and  the  Greek  Testament,  remaining  with  his  cousin  for 
about  eighteen  months.  A  school  was  then  opened  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Nathan  H.  Hall,  at  Hardin's  Creek  church,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant,  whither  he  determined 
to  make  his  way.  His  father  was  quite  unable  to  assist 
him,  but  John  had  secured  a  colt  on  the  farm  and  raised  it, 
so  that  he  was  now  in  possession  of  a  fine  young  horse. 
Thus  mounted,  with  perhaps  two  dollars  in  money,  he  set 
out  upon  the  long  journey.      For  board  and  lodging  he 

1  The  valuable  notice  of  Mr.  Dickey,  in  Sprague's  "  Annals,"  is  marred  by  several 
inaccuracies.  The  Rev.  William  Dickey  appears  as  Wilson;  Mr.  Dickey's  great- 
grandfather is  said  to  have  emigrated  from  Ireland  about  1740,  whereas  it  was  his  grand- 
father, who  came  several  years  earlier  than  that  date ;  Muhlenburg  Presbytery  is 
changed  to  Meckletiburg ;  the  date  of  the  organization  of  Salem  Presbytery  is  set 
forward  seven  years;  Columbus,  Ohio,  is  substituted  for  Columbus,  Ind.  The 
appended  communications  from  Mr.  Dickey's  ministerial  brethren  are  singularly 
pictorial  and  just. 


64  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

sold  his  horse  to  a  Mr.  McElroy,  and  entered  with  zeal 
upon  his  studies.  The  horse  ran  away  and  was  never 
recovered,  but  the  student  was  already  a  favorite,  and  con- 
tinued a  member  of  the  McElroy  household  until  his 
course  at  Dr.  Hall's  school  was  completed.  He  gave 
such  assistance  as  he  could  in  the  labors  of  the  farm,  and 
all  further  compensation  was  refused  by  the  hospitable 
host.  It  was  thus  that  afterward,  to  avoid  confusion 
often  arising  from  the  commonness  of  his  own  name,  Mr. 
Dickey  added  McElroy  to  John.  Soon  becoming  an 
assistant  teacher  in  the  school,  he  was  enabled  to  support 
himself,  at  the  same  time  working  hard  at  his  own  course 
of  study. 

Here  he  remained  nearly  two  years,  when  he  entered 
upon  the  study  of  theology  with  the  cousin  who  had  previ- 
ously been  his  instructor,  and  with  the  Rev.  John  Howe, 
at  Glasgow,  Ky.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  Muhlen- 
burg  Presbytery,  August  29,  18 14,  in  the  twenty-fifth  year 
of  his  age,  having  already,  November  18  of  the  previous 
year,  been  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Nancy  W., 
daughter  of  William  and  Isabel  (Miller)  McClesky,  of 
Abbeville  district,   S.   C. 

In  December,  after  his  licensure,  he  made  a  visit  to 
Indiana,  and  spent  a  few  Sabbaths  at  what  is  now  Wash- 
ington, Davies  County,  with  a  church  that  had  been  con- 
stituted, in  August  of  the  same  year,  by  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Thornton  Scott,  Indiana's  first  resident  Presbyterian 
minister.  There  were  now  but  two  other  organized  Pres- 
byterian societies  within  the  limits  of  Indiana  territory — 
the  "Indiana"  church,  near  Vincennes,  constituted  in  1806, 
and  the  Charlestown  church,  established  in  181 2.  A  church 
formed  in  1807,  ^^^  known  as  the  "Palmyra"  church, 
had  become  extinct.  There  were  but  two  Presbyterian 
meeting-houses,  both  of  logs,  and  both  in  the  "  Indiana" 
parish.      But    two     Presbyterian    ministers    were    already 


THE   WORK    ADVANCED.  65 

settled  in  Indiana,^  Mr.  Scott  and  the  Rev.  William 
Robinson. 

Mr.  Dickey  engaged  to  return  to  the  Washington  con- 
gregation, and  accordingly,  in  May,  1815,^  still  a  licentiate 
under  the  care  of  Muhlenburg  Presbytery,  he  set  out 
for  his  home  in  the  wilderness,  with  his  wife  and  their 
infant  daughter.  The  family  and  all  their  earthly  goods 
were  carried  on  the  backs  of  two  horses.  His  library  con- 
sisted of  a  Bible,  Buck's  "Theological  Dictionary,"  Bun- 
yan's  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and  Fisher's  "Catechism." 
When  the  ferriage  across  the  Ohio  was  paid,  they  had  a 
single  shilling  left. 

Now  began  the  self-denials  and  struggles  of  pioneer  life. 
It  was  impossible  to  expect  a  comfortable  support  from  the 
feeble  congregation.  There  was  little  money  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Taxes  were  partly  paid  in  raccoon  skins,  fox 
skins,  and  "wolf-scalps."  People  lived  on  what  they 
could  raise  from  the  small  clearings,  by  barter,  and  by 
hunting.  Indians  still  occasioned  annoyance  and  anxiety. 
Corn  was  pounded  in  mortars  or  rubbed  on  tin  graters. 
Wheat  flour  was  seldom  seen.  Fruit  was  rare,  except  the 
wild  plums,  grapes,  gooseberries,  and  pawpaws.  Mr. 
Dickey,  therefore,  aided  the  support  of  his  family  by 
farming  on  a  small  scale,  ^  teaching  a  singing-class,  and 
writing  deeds,  wills,  and  advertisements.  He  also  sur- 
veyed land,  and  sometimes  taught  school.  Much  of  this 
work  was  done  gratuitously,  but  it  secured  the  friendship 
of  the  people.  His  average  salary,  including  money  and 
gifts,  of  which  he  kept  a  record,  even  to  the  minutest  de- 
tail, for  the  first  sixteen  years  was  eighty  dollars.  In 
some  way  he  secured  forty  acres  of  land,  to  which  he  sub- 

1  The  Rev.  Samuel  Baldridge,  M.  D.,  had,  in  1810,  settled  at  Lawrenceburgh,  but 
before  Mr.  Dickey's  arrival  had  removed  to  Ohio. 

-  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,"  pp.  12,  13. 

3  The  character  of  the  man  came  out,  however,  in  the  style  of  his  farming.  It  was  sa 
thorough  and  intelligent  that  the  productiveness  of  his  fields  was  proverbial. 


66  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

sequently  added  eighty  acres.  Twenty  or  thirty  acres  he 
cleared,  chiefly  by  his  own  labor.  With  his  neighbors' 
help  he  built  his  first  house  in  the  woods.  It  was  a  small 
log-cabin — the  floor  of  slabs  split  and  hewed  from  oak  and 
poplar  trees  ;  the  windows  small,  greased  paper  serving 
instead  of  glass  ;  the  chimney  partly  of  stone  and  partly  of 
sticks,  and  daubed  with  clay.  In  later  years  he  erected  a 
schoolhouse  on  his  farm,  and  made  sash  with  his  own 
hands  for  the  small  glass  then  in  use.  He  was  ' '  handy 
with  tools,  and  fashioned  the  woodw^ork  of  his  plows  and 
other  farming  implements.  Often  would  less  skilful  neigh- 
bors work  for  him  in  the  field,  while  he  "stalked"  their 
plows,  or  made  them  a  harrow  or  rake.  He  also  had  a  set 
of  shoemaker's  tools,  mending  the  shoes  of  his  family  and 
often  those  of  his  neighbors.  He  could  himself  cut  out 
and  make  a  neat  shoe,  but  "never  liked  the  work,  and 
avoided  it  if  possible. ' '  Music  he  read  with  great  facility, 
supplying  the  lack  of  books  with  his  pen,  several  of  these 
manuscript  volumes  being  carefully  kept  by  his  children. 
He  was  not  unaccustomed,  on  special  occasions,  to  com- 
pose both  music  and  hymns  for  the  use  of  the  congrega- 
tion. Under  his  management  the  winter  singing-school 
became  a  prominent  and  happy  feature  of  the  life  in  the 
wilderness. 

Preaching  every  Sabbath,  and  often  during  the  week,  he 
was  compelled  to  do  much  of  his  studying  while  at  work 
on  the  farm,  or  as  he  rode  on  horseback  from  place  to 
place.  The  family  were  too  poor  to  afford  a  lamp  or  can- 
dles, and  often,  after  a  day  of  manual  labor,  Mr.  Dickey 
would  gather  pine  knots,  and  having  kindled  a  bright  fire, 
would  sit  on  the  hearth  and  write  the  plan  of  a  sermon. 
His  best  opportunities  for  meditation,  however,  came 
while  riding  to  his  preaching  stations,  through  the  forests, 
and  along  the  quiet  roads.  With  his  Bible,  hymn-book, 
and  Confession  of  Faith  in  the  saddle-bags,  and  a  Testa- 


THE    WORK    ADVANCED.  67 

ment  and  small  concordance  in  his  pocket  ready  for  use, 
he  pursued  careful  investigations  of  important  themes. 
His  son  says  : 

On  a  pony  that  had  learned  to  avoid  the  mud  by  going  close  to 
the  rail  fence,  I  have  seen  him  riding  for  miles,  and  at  every  cor- 
ner lifting  his  leg  and  drawing  it  up  on  the  saddle  to  avoid  the 
rails,  too  much  absorbed  in  thought  to  observe  what  the  pony  or 
himself  was  doing.  Occasionally  returning  to  consciousness  of 
things  about  him,  he  would  rein  the  horse  out  into  the  road  ;  but 
the  beast,  preferring  the  harder  ground,  would  soon  go  back  to 
the  fence,  and  creep  so  close  to  the  sharp  corners  that  the  process 
of  leg-lifting  would  begin  again  and  go  steadily  on  for  another 
hour.^ 

At  one  time,  returning  from  a  preaching-tour  to  find  the 
family  entirely  out  of  meal  and  flour,  he  remounted  his 
horse,  went  to  the  mill  several  miles  distant,  procured  a 
supply,  and  \vith  the  sack  on  the  horse's  back  started 
homeward.  But  becoming  engaged  in  meditation,  the 
sack  fell  of!  without  his  notice.  The  hungry  children,  who 
had  made  several  meals  of  potatoes,  saw  with  dismay  that 
he  was  returning  without  the  supplies,  and,  calling  their 
mother,  met  him  as  he  rode  up  to  the  gate.  A  single 
question  was  enough  to  reveal  the  state  of  the  case,  and 
wheeling  about,  half-amused  and  half-ashamed,  he  hurried 
back  to  find  the  sack  at  the  roadside.  He  often  said  that 
to  think  closely  he  must  be  on  his  horse.  There  was  no 
subject  engaging  the  attention  of  the  world  which  he  did 
not  ponder  as  thoroughly  as  his  opportunities  allowed. 
He  was  well  informed  on  questions  of  public  policy,  and 
sometimes  addressed  communications  to  those  in  power, 
always  urging  that  "righteousness  exalteth  a  nation." 
These  communications  were  kindly  received  and  often 
elicited  respectful  replies. 

Mr.  Dickey's  cheerful  labors  were  overshadowed,  how- 

1  The  Rev.  Ninian  Steele   Dickey,  to  whom  the  writer  is  under  many  obligations  for 
the  use  of  MSS. 


68  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ever,  and  sometimes  wholly  interrupted,  by  the  alarming 
diseases  common  in  such  new  settlements.  At  first  his 
own  family  escaped,  but  before  a  year  had  passed  all  were 
prostrated,  and  on  October  23,  18 16,  Mrs.  Dickey  died. 
Added  to  these  personal  sorrows  was  the  discouragement 
arising  from  frequent  removals  of  his  people  to  other 
neighborhoods.  There  was,  moreover,  no  suitable  place 
of  worship.  This  latter  want  was  soon  supplied,  however. 
Though  it  was  difficult  to  select  a  site  against  which  no  one 
would  object,  scattered  as  his  congregation  were  along 
White  River,  upon  a  track  sixteen  miles  long  by  ten  wide, 
they  finally  united  upon  a  piece  of  "  Congress  land" 

whose  sterile  soil  would  not  be  likely  soon  to  tempt  a  purchaser 
to  dispossess  them.  The  members  of  the  little  society  met  on  a 
day  appointed,  and  cut  logs  twenty  feet  in  length,  which,  with 
their  native  covering  of  bark  and  moss,  were  laid  together.  The 
minister  was  present  to  encourage  his  people,  and  some  of  the 
logs  were  notched  by  his  own  hands.  The  roof  was  of  clap-boards. 
The  earth  formed  both  floor  and  carpet.  The  seats  were  hewed 
puncheons.  On  this  log  meeting-house,  the  third,  it  would  seem, 
which  the  Indiana  Presbyterians  possessed,  the  people  looked  with 
pride.  Rude  as  was  the  humble  sanctuary,  it  equaled,  if  it  did  not 
surpass,  the  houses  in  which  several  of  the  congregation  lived.  It 
continued  to  be  the  place  of  worship  until  shortly  after  Davies 
County  was  organized,  when  the  county-seat  was  located  at  Wash- 
ington, a  temporary  court-house  was  erected,  and  this  then  be- 
came the  meeting-house.^ 

After  four  years'  service'  in  this  field,  Mr.  Dickey  re- 
moved to  Lexington,  Scott  County,  and  became  pastor  of 
the  New  Lexington  and  Pisgah  churches,  while  he  also  had 
charge  of  the  Graham  church,  situated  on  a  creek  of  that 
name  between  Paris  and  Vernon,  in  Jennings  County.  His 
installation,  August,    181 9,   over  the  two  former  congrega- 

1  MSS.  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Milligan,  long  a  friend  of  Mr.  Dickey's  family,  a  man 
of  studious  tastes  and  noble  character.  His  death  (October  7,  1876)  occasioned  great  and 
sorrowful  surprise. 

2  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,"'  p.  4. 


THE    WORK    ADVANCED.  69 

tions,  was  the  first  formal  Presbyterian  settlement  in  the 
territory.^  Previously,  however,  April  2,  1818,  Mr.  Dickey 
had  married  Miss  Margaret  Osborn  Steele.  This  wife 
shared  his  trials  and  successes  for  nearly  thirty  years"  and 
became  the  mother  of  eleven  children.  The  picture  of  the 
pioneer  parsonage  and  its  busy  life  would  be  sadly  imper- 
fect without  the  portrait  of  this  Christian  woman. 

She  was  worthy  of  her  husband.  Much  of  his  usefulness 
must  be  attributed  to  her.  For  the  maintenance  of  the  fam- 
ily she  gave  her  full  share  of  toil  and  self-denial,  often  living 
alone  with  her  children  for  months  together,  disciplining 
them  to  industry  and  usefulness,  while  their  father  was  ab- 
sent upon  long  and  laborious  missionary  journeys.  She 
cultivated  a  garden  which  supplied  many  household  wants. 
Reared  as  she  had  been  on  the  frontier,  her  education  was 
at  first  limited,  but  under  her  husband's  tuition  she  be- 
came a  respectable  scholar,  able  to  instruct  her  own  and 
her  neighbors'  children.  She  was  an  adept  at  the  spinning- 
wheel  and  loom,  and  for  many  years  made  with  her  own 
hands  all  the  linen  and  woolen  cloth  and  garments  for  the 
family.  There  were  also  frequent  additions  to  the  exche- 
quer from  the  sale  of  jeans  of  her  manufacture. ,  Such  was 
her  trust  in  God  that  fear  never  seemed  to  disturb  her 
peace.  She  had  lived  for  a  time  where  the  dread  of  prowl- 
ing savages  forbade  the  lighting  of  a  lamp,  or  of  a  fire  at 
night,  and  ordinary  trouble  produced  no  visible  disturb- 
ance of  her  mind.  In  every  good  work  she  was  foremost, 
whether  it  were  making  husk  mattresses  for  the  students  at 
Hanover  College,  gathering  supplies  for  destitute  mission- 
aries, or  caring  for  the  sick  and  unfortunate  at  home.  The 
meagerness  of  her  own  household  stores  did  not  prevent 
her  from  doing  much  for  others.  In  the  absence  of  her 
husband  the  family  altar  was  regularly  maintained,  and  the 

1  Reed's  "Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  91,  213. 

2  Her  death  occurred  October  24,  1847. 


yo  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Sabbath  afternoon  recitations  from  the  Shorter  Catechism 
were  by  no  means  omitted.  Though  her  residence  was  on 
a  farm  and  most  of  Mr.  Dickey's  pubHc  Hfe  was  spent  as 
pastor  of  a  country  church,  she  sustained  a  woman's  weekly 
prayer-meeting.  In  the  Sabbath-school  and  at  public 
worship  her  place  was  seldom  vacant,  notwithstanding  the 
claims  of  so  large  a  family.  It  was  the  custom  to  begin 
the  communion  services  on  Friday,  which  was  often  a  fast- 
day,  and  to  continue  them  through  the  following  Monday. 
Neighboring  ministers  and  congregations  attended  these 
services  in  great  numbers.  Often  was  the  hospitality  of 
the  parish  taxed  to  the  utmost.  A  member  of  Mr.  Dickey's 
family  says  : 

Though  I  relished  heartily  the  enthusiasm  of  these  gatherings, 
especially  the  singing  and  the  social  enjoyment,  I  recollect  that  in 
my  early  days  I  dreaded  these  occasions,  because  I  had  to  sleep 
on  the  floor,  often  without  even  a  carpet  or  pillow,  that  room 
might  be  made  for  strangers.  One  of  my  father's  neighbors,  they 
used  to  say,  had  accommodation  for  sixty  guests,  while  many 
young  men  and  boys  slept  on  the  hay  in  the  barns.  Notwith- 
standing the  claims  of  guests  and  the  necessity  of  unusual  work  at 
these  seasons,  everything  was  ordered  so  that  the  women  of  the 
household  might  be  present  at  all  the  public  meetings.  I  do  not 
recollect  ever  to  have  known  my  mother  to  be  absent  except  on 
account  of  the  severe  illness  of  herself  or  some  member  of  the 
family,  and  never  did  I  hear  her  complain  of  the  burden  of  enter- 
taining so  many  strangers.  I  have  known  her  to  be  much  con- 
cerned as  to  suitable  provision  for  their  comfort,  but  what  she 
had  was  cheerfully  given. 

Is  it  not  natural  to  ask  whether  the  dignity  and  graceful- 
ness of  these  hospitable  rites  are  often  surpassed  or  equaled 
now  ?  The  preparations  are  more  elaborate  and  the  cere- 
monies more  pretentious,  but  is  the  welcome  as  warm  or 
as  wise  ? 

It  is  not  surprising  that  a  mother,  so  prudent  and  dili- 
gent, so  religious  in  her  denial  of  self  and  her  generosity  to 
others,  aided,   too,  by  such  a  husband,   should  be  blessed 


THE    WORK    ADVANCED.  71 

with  dutiful  and  noble  children.  Her  sons  and  daughters 
grew  up  in  piety,  and  most  of  them  survive  in  prominent 
and  useful  stations.' 

In  the  midst  of  the  scenes  now  described,  Mr.  Dickey's 
indefatigable  labors  continued.  He  served  the  New  Lex- 
ington and  Pisgah  churches  until  April,  1835,  a  period  of 
sixteen  years,  when  the  care  of  the  former  congregation  was 
committed  to  other  hands,  though  he  held  the  pulpit  of  the 
Pisgah  society  for  twelve  years  longer,  and  until  the  infirm- 
ities of  age  admonished  him  that  the  end  was  near. 

It  is  not  as  pastor  of  the  small  country  flock  that  his 
usefulness  is  to  be  measured,  however.  He  was  a  traveling 
bishop.  From  far  and  near  he  was  called  to  assist  in 
special  services,  in  revivals,  at  communions,  and  in  vacant 
churches.  The  whole  southern  half  of  the  territory  he 
often  traversed  in  difficult  horseback  journeys,  and  fre- 
quently his  mission  work  extended  to  the  ' '  regions  be- 
yond." In  January  and  February,  1823,  having  received 
an  appointment  from  the  Assembly's  Committee  of  Mis- 
sions, he  made  an  exploring  tour  to  Vincennes  and 
Crawfordsville,  and  returning  fulfilled  appointments  for 
preaching  which  he  had  scattered  as  he  advanced. 

Before  he  had  reached  the  end  of  his  outward  journey  violent 
rains  had  fallen,  and  the  Wabash,  with  its  tributaries,  became  very 
high,  and  was  for  the  most  part  without  bridges.  Yet  he  preached 
thirty-one  sermons  in  thirty  days,  and  kept  all  his  appointments 
save  two.     In  a  number  of  cases  if  the  engagements  had  been  a 

1  It  would  seem  that  our  pioneer  history  furnishes  a  notable  illustration  of  the  power 
of  parental  influence.  Especially  do  the  humble  parsonages  of  the  earlv  days  in  the 
woods  prove  what  worthy  children  God  gives  to  faithful  fathers  and  mothers.  Of  Mr. 
Dickey's  children  are:  Margaret,  wife  of  Dr.  James  F.  Knowlton,  Geneva,  Kan.; 
Jane,  wife  of  Dr.  W.  W.  Britain,  on  the  homestead,  near  New  Washington,  Clark 
County,  Ind.  ;  the  Rev.  Ninian  S.,  for  eighteen  years  pastor  of  our  church  in  Columbus' 
Ind. ;  John  P.,  a  Presbyterian  ruhng  elder,  and  James  H.,  in  Allen  County,  Kan.; 
Nancy  E.,  wife  of  Mr.  Mattoon,  Geneva,  Kan.;  Martha  E.,  wife  of  Thomas  Bare,  Esq., 
Carrolton,  111.;  Mary  E.,  wife  of  James  M.  Haines,  Esq.,  New  Albany,  Ind.;  and 
William  Matthews,  a  graduate  of  Wabash  College,  a  student  of  medicine,  a  prisoner  at 
Andersonville,  and  a  resident  of  California.  The  oldest  son  died  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, while  a  student  for  the  ministry. 


72  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

single  day  earlier  or  later,  the  impassable  streams  must  have  de- 
tained him.  And  so  he  was  accustomed  to  say,  "The  Lord  deliv- 
ered me  out  of  the  deep  waters."  In  the  summer  of  1824  he  spent 
two  months  in  the  counties  of  Bartholomew,  Rush,  Shelby,  and 
Decatur,  under  the  direction  of  the  Indiana  Missionary  Society, 
which  a  short  time  before  he  had  assisted  in  forming.  During  this 
journey  he  organized  the  churches  of  Columbus  and  Franklin  and 
the  church  of  New  Providence,  near  Shelbyville.  His  custom  was 
to  make  a  tour  of  two  weeks,  preaching  daily,  and  then  for  an 
equal  length  of  time  remain  at  home  laboring  in  his  own  parish.^ 

We  are  aided  in  recalling  the  methods  and  sacrifices  of 
those  days  by  the  vivid  pen  of  one  of  Mr.  Dickey's  fellow- 
laborers. 

y 

At  Madison,  in  1829,  I  first  met  with  Father  Dickey,  who  came 
to  assist  Mr.  Johnston-  during  a  protracted  meeting.  He  had 
been  delayed  a  little  by  stress  of  weather  and  bad  roads  ;  the  con- 
gregation were  assembled  when  he  entered  the  church,  fresh  from 
his  horse  and  journey.  I  seem  to  see  his  figure,  of  full  medium 
height,  spare  and  bent,  marching  up  the  aisle  in  a  well-worn  and 
soldier-like  overcoat,  and  drab  leggings,  with  saddle-bags  on  his 
arm,  and  presenting  a  face,  thoughtful,  gentle,  and  earnest,  ex- 
pressive of  an  equable  spirit,  firm  and  mild.  When  he  spoke  from 
the  pulpit  he  had  an  unnatural  tone ;  he  showed  little  rhetoric, 
little  of  the  learning  or  art  of  the  schools,  but  much  good  sense, 
faith,  and  fruit  of  study  in  prayer  and  love.  The  people  listened 
with  a  kind  and  appreciative  attention.  His  character  evidently 
helped  him.  He  was  well  known  in  Madison,  and  everybody  felt 
that  his  words  were  those  of  a  wise  and  disinterested  friend. 
There  I  learned  to  revere  him  as  one  communing  much  with  God 
and  ever  penetrated  with  everlasting  things ;  whose  mind  and 
heart  were  habitually  conversant  with  the  greatest  interests  ;  who 
sought  not  his  own,  but  was  revolving  plans  of  large  usefulness  ; 
a  man,  sober  and  trusty  of  judgment,  and  of  organizing  ability  ; 
laborious  and  modest ;  stable  in  the  truth  ;  candid  and  liberal,  but 
not  lax ;  fraternal  and  broad  in  his  sympathies,  loving  and,  like 
Christ,  loving  the  world. 

1  MSB.  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  S.  MiUigan. 

2  The  Rev.  James  H.  Johnston,  virho  died  at  Crawfordsville  March  8,  1876,  having 
completed  the  longest  term  of  continuous  service  ever  attained  by  a  minister  of  our 
church  in  Indiana— more  than  fifty-one  years. 


THE    WORK    ADVANCED.  73 

A  few  days  later  I  found  Father  Dickey  at  Indianapolis,  attend- 
ing the  anniversaries  of  the  State  Benevolent  Societies,  in  estab- 
lishing which  he  had  been  among  the  prime  movers  and  in  which 
he  continued  to  show  an  efficient  interest.  The  legislature  was  in 
session,  and  on  the  Sabbath  he  preached  to  a  large  audience,  from 
Jeremiah  vi.:  16— "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  stand  ye  in  the  ways,  and 
see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where  is  the  good  way,  and  walk 
therein,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls."  He  spoke  with 
unction  and  to  general  acceptance,  notwithstanding  his  peculiar 
mode  of  delivery. 

Two  months  afterward  he  surprised  me  with  a  visit  at  my  bach- 
elor's room  at  an  inn  in  Logansport.  He  had  come  on  an 
exploring  mission  from  his  home  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state, 
in  February,  1830,  encountering  such  difficulties  from  the  roads 
and  high  waters  and  rude  beginnings  of  the  settlers,  remote  from 
each  other,  as  belonged  to  that  period,  and  all  from  a  desire, 
preaching  as  he  went,  better  to  know  the  spiritual  destitutions  of 
the  state,  and  more  intelligently  to  labor  in  removing  them. 

During  a  few  more  years  I  was  wont  to  see  him  at  Synods, 
where  his  presence  was  always  valued,  and  notably  I  remember 
him  in  the  General  Assembly  at  Philadelphia,  1832.  In  the 
strifes  of  the  times  he  was  not  a  warm  partisan  ;  he  knew  nothing 
of  intrigue  ;  and  beyond  most  men  seemed  to  act  above  prejudice 
and  in  the  light  of  conscience  and  the  spirit  of  Christ.  ^ 

Though  never  of  a  rugged  constitution,  the  contrast 
with  his  wife's  vigor  and  endurance  being  the  occasion  of  fre- 
quent remark  on  her  part,  indulging  the  hope,  as  she  did, 
that  she  might  be  permitted  to  cheer  him  in  life's  decline, 
Mr.  Dickey  sustained  such  various  labors  as  have  been 
described  for  a  long  period.  Not  until  April,  1847,  "^^'^s 
he  compelled  by  failing  health  to  surrender  the  pastorate 

1  MS.  letter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Martin  M.  Post,  dated  January  7,  1876.  Born  in  Corn- 
wall, Vt.,  December  3,  1805,  Middlebury's  valedictorian  in  1826,  a  graduate  of  Andover, 
reaching  his  mission  field  at  Logansport,  Ind.,  December,  1829,  he  there  continued  to 
reside  until  his  death,  October  n,  1S76.  For  the  fathers  of  the  Indiana  Synod  the  semi- 
centennial year  was  a  fatal  one.  Johnston  fell  asleep  JMarch  8,  but  three  days  before 
John  Ross  (tz(.  92),  these  two  having  been  the  sole  remaining  representatives  of  the 
former  times  in  the  Synod,  North.  Dr.  Post's  demise  occurred  but  four  days  later  than 
that  of  Thomas  S.  Milligan.  The  five  sons  of  the  former  all  received  a  collegiate  and 
theological  training,  the  youngest,  Roswell  O.,  having  become  pastor  of  the  flock  so  long 
■cared  for  by  his  faiher. 


74  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

he  had  held  for  twenty-eight  years.  After  an  interval  of  a 
few  months  his  health  was  so  far  restored  that  he  was  able 
to  labor  in  the  service  of  the  American  Tract  Society  for 
nearly  a  year.  On  the  termination  of  this  work  he  sought 
no  further  fixed  employment,  but  ministered  in  the  pulpit 
and  as  a  counselor,  most  usefully,  as  opportunity  came. 

In  1828  Mr.  Dickey  had  published,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Synod,  "A  Brief  History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  State  of  Indiana,"  now  the  source  of  our 
best  information  with  regard  to  the  early  days.'  This 
small  pamphlet  it  was  his  earnest  desire  to  enlarge  and 
complete.     His  son  writes  : 

The  last  work  of  my  father's  life,  on  which  his  heart  was  set, 
was  the  completion  of  the  history.  He  was  very  feeble  in  body 
at  the  last,  but  vigorous  in  mind,  and  sat  at  his  table  and  wrote  as 
long  as  he  was  able.  Industry  was  his  characteristic.  I  never 
saw  him  idle  an  hour.  When  forced  to  lay  down  his  pen  it  cost 
him  a  struggle.  At  his  request  I  acted  as  his  amanuensis  and 
prepared  several  sketches  of  churches,  of  which  he  said  no 
other  living  man  knew  so  much  as  he. 

All  was,  however,  left  quite  unfinished.  He  lived  but  a 
day  or  two  after  laying  aside  his  pen.^ 

1  "  In  regard  to  the  early  history  of  Presbyterianism  in  Indiana,  he  was  a  sort  of 
gazetteer  or  book  of  reference,  from  which  we  had  rarely,  if  ever,  occasion  to  appeal." 
—Dr.  Henry  Little,  in  Sprague's  "Annals,"  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  518-9. 

2  As  to  the  origin  of  the  "  Brief  History,"  and  the  various  efforts  to  supplement  and 
complete  it,  see  "  Minutes  of  Salem  Presbytery,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  20;  "  Minutes  of  Madison 
Presbytery,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  26;  "  Minutes  of  Indiana  Synod,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  13,  15,  31,  53, 
59,60,549,586,612,624;  Vol.  II.,  pp.  207,  225,  347,  384,  401,  419,  423,  436,  437,446. 
Mr.  Dickey's  pamphlet,  though  accurate,  is  not  infallible.  I  have  before  me  the 
author's  copy,  with  his  manuscript  corrections.  The  more  important  of  these  are  the 
following:  Page  5,  as  to  Madison  church  read,  "it  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Robinson  for 
two  years.  In  the  summer  of  1819  the  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Searle  located  at  Madison,  and 
was  installed  the  following  year  pastor  of  Madison  and  Hanover  churches  ";  page  6,  as 
to  the  date  of  the  organization  of  Pisgah  church  read,  "  February  27,  1816";  the  name 
of  Daniel  C.  Banks  is  substituted  for  that  of  James  McGready,  as  having  constituted 
the  New  Albany  church,  the  latter  having  formed  the  church  at  Jeffersonville ;  page  7, 
as  to  the  date  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Reed's  settlement  in  Owen  County  read,  "  October, 
1822";  page  8,  read,  "  Mr.  Proctor  labored  three  fourths  of  his  time  (at  IndianapoUs) 
for  a  year,  beginning  October,  1822.  Mr.  George  Bush  commenced  his  labors  there  in 
June,  1824";  page  10,  read,  "  June,  1821,"  as  the  date  of  the  organization  of  Evansville 


THE    WORK    ADVANCED,  75 

The  only  meetings  of  the  Presbytery  and  Synod  he  had 
failed  to  attend  were  those  held  at  New  Albany  a  few 
weeks  previous  to  his  death.  He  wrote  to  his  brethren 
apprising  them  of  his  feebleness,  and  assuring  them  that 
his  work  was  nearly  done.  Synod  appointed  a  committee 
to  suggest  a  suitable  reply,  on  the  reception  of  which  Mr. 
Dickey  was  deeply  moved,  at  the  family  altar  with  choked 
utterance  giving  thanks  to  God  that  the  lines  had  fallen  to 
him  in  such  goodly  places,  among  such  loving  and  faithful 
brethren,  and  praying  that  God  would  greatly  prosper 
them.  Suffering  intensely  in  the  closing  hours,  his  peace 
was  great.  Although  for  twenty-five  years  afflicted  with  a 
pulmonary  disease,  his  endurance  was  remarkable.  He 
finally  fell  asleep  November  21,  1849.  The  Rev.  Philip 
Bevan,  a  licentiate  of  Cincinnati  Presbytery,  at  this  time 
supplying  the  New  Washington  church,  officiated  at  the 
funeral.  On  the  following  Sabbath  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harvey 
Curtis,  then  pastor  of  the  Second  Church,  Madison, 
preached  in  the  New  Washington  Meeting-house  a  com- 
memorative discourse  from  the  text  descriptive  of  Barna- 
bas :  "  He  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  of  faith." — Acts  xi. :  24. 

Mr.  Dickey's  remains  lie  buried  beside  his  second  wife 
and  three  of  his  children,  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Pisgah 
(now  New  Washington)  church.  His  tombstone  is  a 
plain  marble  slab,  inscribed  with  his  name,  age,  the  date  of 
his  death,  and  the  text  of  the  commemorative  discourse.^ 

church;  page  ii,  for  James  Balch  substitute  Nathan  B.  Derrow,  the  name  of  the 
"  New  Hope  "  church  having  been  originally  and  until  1825,  "  Hopewell." 

There  are  such  typographical  errors  as  Samuel  B.  Robinson  for  Robertson,  and 
Martin  B.  for  Nathan  B.  Derrow. 

It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  Dickey  makes  no  allusion  to  the  organization  of  Rising 
Sun  church,  September,  1816  (by  Nathan  B.  Derrow),  and  of  Concord  church,  Orange 
County,  September  27,  i8r8  (by  Orin  Fowler),  nor  to  the  labors  of  Samuel  Baldridge 
(1810-2),  Samuel  J.  Mills  (1814-5),  William  Goodell  (1822),  Lucius  Alden  (1825),  and 
John  Ross  (1822-76). 

1  On  the  announcement  of  his  death  in  Synod  a  movement  was  made  to  erect  a 
monument  to  his  memory  at  the  expense  of  his  brethren.     The  motion  was  opposed  by 


-76  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Of  the  man  who  so  wisely  and  laboriously  laid  the 
foundations  of  Christian  society  in  Indiana,  the  best  esti- 
mate is  presented  in  the  simple  record  of  his  career.  It  is, 
however,  to  be  observed  how  sagacious  and  determined  he 
was  in  the  advocacy  of  views  which  then  were  new,  but 
now  are  generally  accepted  among  good  men. 

In  his  personal  appearance  most  unostentatious,  his  dress 
was  usually  homespun.  Though  in  his  later  years  he  wore 
broadcloth  in  the  pulpit,  his  every-day  garb  was  of  the  jeans 
provided  by  the  hands  of  his  wife  and  daughters.  Doubt- 
less the  necessity  of  economy  determined  this  habit,  but 
there  was  also  still  remaining  among  the  plain  people  of 
the  frontier  that  prejudice  against  imported  stuffs  which 
during  the  Revolution  had  been  so  violent. '  Beneath  such 
an  unassuming  exterior,  however,  dwelt  a  singularly  broad 
and  self-reliant  mind. 

The  character  of  the  man  was  indicated  in  his  early  and 
bold  advocacy  of  the  temperance  reform.  It  has  been 
asserted  that  he  preached  the  first  sermon  in  Indiana 
against  intemperance.^  A  lady  relates,  as  illustrating  the 
propriety  of  such  preaching  at  the  time,  that  on  one  occa- 
sion, when  a  child,  she  was  put  out  of  a  back  window  by 
her  mother,  and  sent  with  great  haste  to  one  of  the  neigh- 
bors for  whisky,  ' '  because  they  saw  Mr.  Dickey,  the 
preacher,  coming."      One  of  his  son's  earliest  recollections 

Samuel  Merrill,  Esq.,  who  said  that  he  knew  Mr.  Dickey  well  enough  to  be  sure  that 
such  display  would  have  offended  his  modesty.  Mr.  Merrill  suggested  instead  that 
funds  be  raised  for  a  hall  in  Wabash  College,  to  be  known  as  "  Dickey  Hall."  The 
suggestion  met  with  cordial  approbation,  but  was  never  carried  out. 

1  The  Rev.  James  Dickey,  of  South  Salem,  Ohio,  a  cousin  of  "  Father  Dickey,"  went 
to  the  General  Assembly  in  Philadelphia  dressed  in  homespun,  and  on  a  Sabbath  was 
invited  to  fill  one  of  the  city  pulpits.  After  ascending  the  pulpit  the  sexton  first  came  to 
him,  and  subsequently  the  elders,  to  offer  him  a  pew,  as  he  was  now  occupying  the 
clergTy'man's  place.  But  they  were  soon  surprised  with  a  good  sermon  from  the  intruder. 
The  next  day  the  ladies  of  the  congregation  presented  him  with  a  clerical  suit,  but  he 
gently  declined  it,  saying  that  where  he  lived  the  people  would  not  hear  him  preach  in 
such  clothes. 

2  The  honor  seems  to  belong  either  to  him  or  to  "  Father  Cravens,"  of  the  Methodist 
Church. 


THE    WORK    ADVANCED. 


77 


is  of  a  stormy  onset  upon  him  by  four  of  his  parishioners,  all 
distillers,  as  they  were  gathered  under  a  spreading  beech, 
after  one  of  his  discourses  against  the  prevailing  vice. 

I  expected  that  he  would  give  them  a  severe  castigation,  and 
was  indignant  when  afterward,  with  reference  to  the  affair,  he 
merely  said,  "Why,  I  didn't  suppose  they  would  like  the  ser- 
mon." And  yet,  so  great  was  the  influence  of  his  teaching  that 
two  of  these  men  never  distilled  whisky  afterward.  One  of  them 
would  not  even  sell  his  distilling  apparatus,  but  let  it  stand  and 
rot.  In  a  few  years  public  sentiment,  aided  by  a  fire  which 
destroyed  one  of  the  establishments,  closed  the  other  stills,  so 
that  intoxicating  drinks  were  not  manufactured  within  the  bounds 
of  his  congregation. 

He  met  the  neighboring  ministers  in  argument  upon  this 
subject,  and  so  ably  and  with  such  good  humor  did  he 
maintain  his  cause  that,  largely  owing  to  his  influence,  the 
region  where  he  lived  and  labored  banished  intoxicating 
liquors  from  use  as  a  beverage.  His  reputation  as  a 
debater  in  behalf  of  total  abstinence  was  so  assured,  and 
the  unpopularity  of  opposing  him  so  well  known,  that  a 
young  man  who  had  represented  the  district  in  Congress, 
and  was  an  aspirant  again  for  the  position,  declined  to 
debate  the  question  with  him,  though  he  had  issued  a  chal- 
lenge to  any  one  who  would  meet  him. 

Father  Dickey ' '  was  always  an  earnest  anti-slavery 
man.'  For  several  years  he  cast  the  only  ballot  in  his 
township  for  Free-soil  principles.  By  and  by  his  convic- 
tions became  so  strong  that,  though  he  never  introduced 
politics  into  the  pulpit,  privately  and  in  debating  societies 
he  discussed  the  question,  and  ultimately  won  over  nearly 
all  his  people  to  anti-slavery  sentiments.^     Living  on  the 

1  See  Mrs.  Stowe's  "  Men  of  Our  Times,"  p.  548.  Cf.  Reed's  "  Christian  Traveller," 
p.  152;  Johnston's  "Forty  Years  in  Indiana,"  pp.  12,  13,  15,  and  17;  and  Crowe's 
"Abolition  Intelligencer." 

2  I  have  before  me  a  thick,  yellow  manuscript,  in  the  careful  handwriting  of  Father 
Dickey,  and  entitled,  "  An  Address  to  Christians  on  the  Duty  of  Giving  Suitable  In- 
struction to  Slaves."  The  argument  is  tender  and  convincing.  It  is  dated  December 
20,  1822— a  very  early  period  for  such  an  argument  upon  the  Kentucky  border. 


78  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

border  where  runaway  negroes  were  numerous,  he  fear- 
lessly preached  from  such  texts  as,  "Thou  shalt  not  deliver 
unto  his  master  the  servant  which  is  escaped  from  his 
master  unto  thee"  (Deut.  xxiii. :  15);  and  under  his  in- 
structions the  better  men  of  the  community  ceased  the 
lucrative  business  of  hunting  fugitives,  although  the  prac- 
tice had  been  thought  innocent  and  necessary.  The  name 
of  "the  old  abolitionist,"  which  those  "of  the  baser  sort" 
gave  him,  rather  pleased  him.  He  said  it  would  one  day 
be  popular. 

I  remember  Father  Dickey  [writes  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe']  chiefly  through  the  warm  praises  of  my  brother  and  my 
husband,  who  used  to  meet  him  at  Synods  and  Presbyteries. 
They  used  to  speak  of  him  as  an  apostle  after  the  primitive  order 
— "poor,  yet  making  many  rich  ;  having  nothing,  and  yet  possess- 
ing all  things."  He  advocated  the  cause  of  the  slave  in  the  day 
when  such  advocacy  exposed  one  to  persecution  and  bodily 
danger.  My  husband,  to  whom  I  have  appealed,  says  he  remem- 
bers him  well  and  loves  his  memory,  but  that  he  was  a  man  that 
"didn't  make  anecdotes";  always  constant,  steady,  faithful,  he 
inspired  younger  ministers  by  his  constancy  and  faith,  and  the 
simplicity  of  his  devotion  to  Christ.-  In  my  novel  of  "Dred," 
now  changed  in  title  to  "Nina  Gordon,"  the  character  of  Father 
Dickson  was  drawn  from  my  recollection  of  this  good  man,  as 
described  to  me.^ 

The  services  which  Mr.  Dickey  rendered  to  the  cause  of 
education  were  also  important.  His  own  early  opportuni- 
ties for  study  had  been  secured  amidst  manifold  difficulties, 
and  he  sought  the  more  earnestly  to  provide  for  his 
children  and  his  neighbors'  children  an  easier  and  better 

1  From  Mandarin,  Fla.,  February  5,  1876. 

2  A  clergyman,  who  was  at  one  time  a  pastor  in  southern  Indiana,  and  went  back  to 
New  England  after  a  few  years'  trial  of  the  frontier,  relates  that  on  a  certain  occasion 
he  saddled  his  horse  and  rode  fourteen  miles  to  lay  his  discouragements  befoie  Mr. 
Dickey  and  obtain  advice  and  sympathy.  But  when  he  observed  how  the  latter  was  sup- 
porting a  large  family,  without  a  thought  of  faltering,  though  in  the  midst  of  difficulties 
compared  with  which  his  own  were  trifling,  he  returned  home  without  even  mentioning 
the  object  of  his  visit. 

3  See  Stowe's  "  Nina  Gordon,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  300,  301  znd passivt. 


THE    WORK    ADVANCED.  yn 

way.  In  his  first  parish  in  Davies  County  he  taught 
school. '  Until  the  division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
1837  he  was  an  active  trustee  of  Hanover  College.'' 
Chiefly  through  his  influence  a  wealthy  Enghshman,  Mr. 
Thomas  Stevens,  was  induced  to  establish  and  maintain 
a  female  seminary  on  the  Ohio  River  near  Bethlehem.  In 
a  suitable  brick  building,  erected  by  Mr.  Stevens  for  that 
purpose,  Mr.  Dickey  resided  several  years,  providing 
a  home  for  the  teachers  and  securing  educational  privileges 
for  his  children.  The  first  principal  of  the  school  was  Miss 
Longly,  who,  after  two  years  in  the  seminary,  became  the 
wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Riggs,  of  the  Sioux  mission.  Much 
was  accomplished  by  the  school  for  the  whole  surrounding 
region. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  a  life  so  variously  useful  and 
a  character  so  strikingly  symmetrical  have  elicited  affec- 
tionate eulogies.  "He  was  always  spoken  of  with  great 
reverence  by  my  mother,"  says  one  who  in  childhood  was 
accustomed  to  see  him  at  her  own  home.  "I  met  him 
first  in  Presbytery,"  wrote  another,  "  and  I  well  remember 
that  the  impression  of  his  goodness  derived  from  others 
was  heightened  in  me  by  the  first  day's  observation 
I  was  never  with  one  whose  flow  of  feeling  savored  so 
much  of  heaven."-^  "He  has  left  a  name,"  said  Dr. 
Martin  M.  Post,  "which  suggests  a  wise  counselor,  a  true 
worker,  a  thoroughly  honest  and  godly  man.  May  a 
double  portion  of  his  spirit  rest  on  his  successors  in  the 
Synods  of  Indiana." 

It  is  with  this  era  of  restored  tranquillity  and  growing 
missionary  activity  that  the  territorial   history  of  Indiana 

1  The  Presbyterian  minister  was  almost  inevitably  the  schoolmaster  in  the  early  days 
at  the  West.  Scott,  Baldridge,  Robinson,  Todd,  Martin,  Crowe-nearly  all  the  earliest 
settled  ministers  taught  schools. 

•■!  It  is  evident  that  in  the  first  struggles  of  the  school  at  Hanover,  he,  with  Johnston 
was  Crowe's  "  brother  beloved."  ' 

3  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  in  Sprague's  "  Annals,"  Vol.  IV.,  p.  519. 


8o  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

terminates.  The  population  is  about  eighty  thousand. 
WilHam  Henry  Harrison,  the  first  governor  of  the  terri- 
tory, had  in  1813  been  succeeded  by  Thomas  Posey,  a 
senator  in  Congress  from  Tennessee,  an  officer  of  the 
revolutionary  army,  and  a  Presbyterian  ruling  elder.  ^  The 
last  regular  session  of  the  territorial  legislature  is  held  at 
Corydon  in  December,  1815.  On  the  19th  of  April,  18 16, 
the  president  of  the  United  States  approves  the  bill  pro- 
viding for  a  state  government,  and  on  the  loth  of  the 
following  June  a  constitutional  convention  assembles.  At 
the  first  state  election,  August,  1816,  Jonathan  Jennings  is 
chosen  governor.  There  are  three  settled  Presbyterian 
ministers  in  Indiana  at  the  opening  of  the  year  18 16,  and 
four  churches,  with  a  membership  of  possibly  one  hundred. 
But  good  and  wise  men  are  laying  the  foundations  for 
steady  and  substantial  progress. 

1  October  9,  1817,  "  General  Thomas  Posey,  an  elder  from  the  church  of  '  Indiana  ' 
appeared  in  Sjmod  and  took  his  seat." — "  Minutes  Kentucky  Synod,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  115. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Aid  from  New  England. 
1816,   1817. 

Again  appeared,  early  in  18 16,  tremendous  McGready. 
Possibly  he  crossed  the  Ohio  just  before  the  year  began. 
The  next  year  his  earthly  career  was  to  close,  and  it  seems 
that  these  last  labors^  for  the  Indiana  church  were 
peculiarly  energetic  and  useful.  He  established  the  Blue 
River  congregation  in  Washington  County,  February  6, 
and  the  Pisgah  church,  Clark  County,  February  27. 
Thomas  Cleland  and  Joseph  B.  Lapsley  were  also  sent 
again  by  the  General  Assembly  to  the  state,  together  with 
William  Wylie  and  Samuel  Brown.  It  is  not  certain  that 
either  of  them  performed  the  duty  assigned. 

But,  apparently  at  his  own  charges,  came,  simultane- 
ously with  McGready  and  possibly  in  his  company,  another 
notable  Kentuckian,  who  may  claim  especial  attention 
since  subsequently  his  hard  service  in  Indiana  was  to  cost 
him  his  life. 

Samuel  Shannon  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  while 
under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Witherspoon.  He  was  admitted  a 
member  of  Transylvania  Presbytery,  as  a  transfer  from  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Lexington,  Va.,  April  28,  1789,  and  was  the  third  Pres- 
byterian clergyman  who  settled  north  of  the  Kentucky  River.  He 
lived  till  the  year  1806  in  the  lower  part  of  Woodford  County,  and 
had  the  charge  of  a  small  church  called  Woodford  church.  .  He 
then  moved  across  the  Kentucky  River  into  Franklin  County, 
where  his  family  remained  and  where  he  had  his  home  till  his 
death. 

1  The  Assembly  of  1817  commissioned  him  to  Indiana,  but  there  was  a  higher  call 
awaiting  him. 

81 


82  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  last  years  of  his  Hfe  were  spent  in  missionary  labors,  chiefly 
in  the  destitute  parts  of  the  state  of  Indiana.  In  the  summer  of 
1822,  while  engaged  in  one  of  these  missionary  excursions,  he 
caught  the  fever  of  the  season  and  of  the  place.  Apprehensive  of 
the  consequences  he  made  the  best  of  his  way  home.  His  family 
met  him  a  few  miles  from  home,  but  were  unable  to  move  him 
any  further.  They  had  just  an  opportunity  of  expressing  their 
affection  toward  him,  and  of  receiving  his  departing  blessing, 
when  he  expired.^ 

In  the  War  of  181 2  he  volunteered  to  accompany  the  northwest- 
ern army  as  a  chaplain.  He  was  a  man  of  great  physical  strength. 
His  fist  was  like  a  sledge-hammer,  and  he  was  said  to  have 
lopped  off  a  stout  bough  at  a  single  stroke  of  his  sword,  when 
charging  through  the  woods.  Notwithstanding  his  strength  he 
was  one  of  the  best-natured  men  in  the  world,  and  nothing  could 
provoke  or  ruffle  him.  He  had  also  a  mechanical  turn,  and 
invented  a  piece  of  apparatus  called  "  the  Whirling  Table.  "- 

But  in  the  pulpit  he  was  awkward  and  his  utterance  was 
slow  and  stammering.  His  zeal,  however,  was  untiring 
and  his  usefulness  was  unquestioned  throughout  the  new 
settlements.  ^ 

It  will  be  seen  how  exclusively  thus  far  the  foundations 
have  been  laid  by  Presbyterian  agencies.  We  may  have 
the  pleasure  now  of  observing  the  friendly  alliance  with 
other  instrumentalities.  In  New  England  home  missionary 
operations  were  carried  on  chiefly  through  the  ordinary 
ecclesiastical  organizations.  Among  these  the  missionary 
society  of  the  Connecticut  Association"*  was  eminent  for 
zeal  and  for  the  number  and  intelligence  of  its  emissaries. 
Penetrating  at  last  to  Indiana  they  seem  to  have  had  no 
thought  of  establishing  Congregational  churches,  but  with 
all  their  strength  aided  the  Presbyterian  movement,  now 
for  more  than  twelve  years  under  way.  It  is  not  difhcult 
to  explain  their  policy.       Finding  here  a  Kentucky  and 

1  Bishop's  "  Memoir  of  Rice,"  p.  286. 

2  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  p.  83. 

3  He  established  the  important  churches  of  Livonia  and  Salem. 

4  See  Appendix  A.     Cf.  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,'"  p.  18. 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  83 

Tennessee  and  Virginia  population,  descended  from  a 
Scotch-Irish  ancestry  and  bound  by  prejudice,  habits,  con- 
victions, and  affection  to  the  ancestral  church,  it  would  not 
require  a  Yankee's  shrewdness  to  detect  the  hopelessness 
of  an  attempt  to  proselyte  them.  But  these  missionaries 
from  New  England  had  no  desire  to  make  proselytes. 
They  came  in  the  service  of  Christianity.  They  seem  indeed 
in  many  cases  to  have  been  unconscious  of  any  line  whatever 
dividing  them  from  Presbyterians.  They  adhered  to  the 
Westminster  standards  and  raised  no  question  about  the 
Presbyterian  form  of  government.  In  many  instances  they 
received  ordination  from  Presbytery.  The  type  of  New 
England  piety  they  brought  to  the  West  was  that  of  Con- 
necticut, among  whose  Puritan  founders  those  of  Presby- 
terian preferences  balanced  almost  evenly  the  Independent 
element.  ^  The  period  was  one  of  beautiful  harmony  and 
signal  success,  and  may  be  reviewed  with  unmingled  satis- 
faction. 

Nathan  B.  Derrow  appears  to  have  been  the  earliest 
of  all  these  devoted  laborers  from  New  England.  Coming 
from  Connecticut  to  western  New  York  in  1802,  on  the 
2d  of  February,  1803,  he  was  ordained  and  installed  over 
the  Homer  church,  Svhich  he  happily  served  until  1807. 
He  then  moved  westward  again  to  ' '  New  Connecticut ' ' 
(what  is  now  known  as  the  Ohio  Reserve),  and  settled  at 
Vienna,  Trumbull  County.^  In  181 5  he  spent  "eighteen 
weeks  in  various  parts  of  New  Connecticut,"  "publishing 
the  gospel,  reproving  error,  and  strengthening  the  weak.'"* 
It  was  in  18 16  that  he  came  to  Indiana,  commissioned  by 
the  Connecticut  society.  ' '  He  traveled  extensively  through 
the  state,    and  besides   the  church    of  Graham  he  consti- 

1  Hodge's  "  History,"  pp.  33,  34. 

2  Hotchkin's  "  History  of  Western  New  York,"  pp.  47,  421. 

3  Gillett's  "  History,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  140. 

4  Co7inecticut  Evangelical  Magazine,  Vol.  V. 


84  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

tuted  a  church  at  Brownstown ' ' '  which  soon  became  extinct. 

"In  July  1817  Clement  Hickman,  from  the  Presby- 
tery of  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  settled  with  his  family  at  Princeton, 
where  a  small  church  had  been  previously  formed  by  Mr. 
jMcGready."  ^  A  few  months  later,  while  visiting  New 
Harmony,  he  was  taken  ill  and  died.  He  rests  there  in  an 
obscure  grave.  A  child  of  his  lies  buried  in  a  field  near 
Princeton.  He  had  previously  been  a  minister  in  the 
Methodist  Church  ;  but  in  the  year  18 10,  coming  to  Painted 
Post,  N.  Y.,  and  employed  by  the  inhabitants  to  preach 
for  them,  he  applied  to  the  Presbytery  of  Geneva,  and 
April  18,  1 811,  was  duly  licensed.  The  subsequent  year, 
August  25,  he  was  ordained  and  installed,  but  was  dis- 
missed, September  10,  18 16,  to  journey  westward,  and  to 
end  his  days  soon  after  in  Indiana.^ 

It  was  at  this  same  period  that  William  Dickey,  an- 
other kinsman  of  "Father  Dickey,"  for  a  month  or  two 
took  his  place  among  the  frontiersmen  ;  and  Daniel 
C.  Banks,  settled  at  Henderson,  Ky. ,  near  the  border, 
rendered  valuable  service  in  organizing"*  and  for  a  time 
preaching  to  the  congregation  at  New  Albany,  who  also, 
in  1 82 1,  under  the  Assembly's  appointment,  eflectively 
aided  the  church  at  Evansville.  ^ 

Now  occur  two  historic  names,  John  Todd  and  James 
Balch,  names  that  recall  some  of  the  most  honorable 
national  and  ecclesiastical  traditions.  They  arrived  in  the 
same  year  (1817),  and  both  strikingly  illustrate  the  fugi- 
tiveness  of  the  most  brilliant  family  distinctions. 

1  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,"  p.  13. 

2  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,"  p.  13. 

3  Hotchkin's  "  Western  New  York,"  p.  452.     Cf.  p.  107. 

4  In  Dickey's  "  Histor>' "  McGready  is  named  as  the  founder  of  the  New  Albany 
society,  but  the  error  is  corrected  by  the  author  in  the  margin  of  his  own  copy  of  the 
pamphlet. 

5  McCarer's  "  Memorial  Sermon,"  p.  7.  The  Evansville  church  was  organized  by 
Mr.  Banks,  in  June,  1821. 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  85 

The  name  of  John  Todd  belongs  to  a  classic  region  in 
American  church  history  and  introduces  us  at  once  to  a 
courtly  company.  It  was  in  old  Hanover  Presbytery, 
Virginia,  and  associated  with  James  Waddel,  David  Rice, 
and  Archibald  Alexander'  that  John  Todd  of  Indiana 
passed  his  early  years. 

His  father,  John  Todd,  was  the  companion  of  Samuel 
Davies,  and  before  the  latter' s  transfer  in  1759  from 
Virginia  to  the  presidency  of  Princeton  College  "was 
called  to  wear  the  mantle  of  Davies  ' '  '^  and  ' '  was  for  many 
years  the  leading  man  in  the  presbytery  east  of  the  Blue 
Ridge."' 

The  senior  Todd  immigrated  to  America  about  A.  D. 
1740*  from  the  province  of  Ulster,  Ireland,  where  his 
ancestors  had  taken  refuge  more  than  a  century  before 
from  the  persecution  of  Presbyterians  in  Scotland  by 
Charles  I.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  weaver."  He  grad- 
uated from  Princeton  College  in  1749,  a  member  of  the 
second  class  admitted  to  a  degree,  and  was  taken  on  trial 
by  the  New  Brunswick  Presbytery  May  7,  1750.  About 
ten  days  after  Mr.  Davies  "represented  before  the  Synod 
of  New  York  the  great  necessities  of  the  people  in  the 
back  parts  of  Virginia,  where  multitudes  were  remarkably 
awakened  and  reformed  several  years  ago  and  ever  since 

1  Cf.  "  Life  of  Alexander,"  p.  210. 

2  Gillett,  ist  ed.,  Vol.  L,  p.  94.     Cf.  Briggs's  "American  Presbyterianism,"  pp.  296-7, 

3  Foote's  "  Sketches  of  Virginia,"  second  series,  p.  47. 

4  In  "  John  Todd,  the  Story  of  his  Life,"  Harper's,  1876,  occurs  (p.  526)  the  follow- 
ing: "  There  are  in  this  country  three  distinct  families  of  Yorkshire  Todds.  One  of 
these  sprung  from  an  ancestor  of  unknown  name  who  settled  in  Virginia,  whence  his 
descendants  have  spread  into  Kentucky.  Thomas  Todd,  associate  justice  of  the  United 
States  court,  was  one  of  them.  He  married  the  widow  of  Major  George  Washington  (a 
nephew  of  General  George  Washington)  and  sister  of  Mrs.  President  Madison.  James 
Madison  Todd,  of  Frankfort,  Ky.,  is  a  son  of  Justice  Todd,  as  was  also  Col.  C.  S.  Todd, 
aid  to  General  Harrison  and  the  first  minister  of  our  government  to  the  United  States  of 
Colombia."  The  elder  Todd  of  this  narrative  is  the  "ancestor  of  unknown  name" 
above  alluded  to.     Cf.  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  p.  67,  foot-note. 

5  Webster,  p.  608. 


86  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

have  been  thirsting  after  the  ordinances  of  God. ' '  ^  There- 
upon the  Synod  recommended  ' '  to  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick  to  endeavor  to  prevail  with  Mr.  John  Todd, 
upon  his  being  Hcensed,  to  take  a  journey  thither."  He 
was  Hcensed  November  13,  1750,  and  from  a  report  made 
to  Synod  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  it  appears  ' '  that 
Mr.  Todd  is  preparing  speedily  to  go."  It  was  at  first 
designed  that  he  should  locate  in  Prince  Edward  or  in 
Charlotte  County,  but  the  objections  raised  by  the  General 
Court,  in  sympathy  with  the  Church  of  England,  made  it 
impossible  to  obtain  houses  of  worship  there.  Mr.  Todd 
was  accordingly  invited  to  occupy  four  of  the  places 
licensed  for  Mr.  Davies.^  A  call  was  laid  before  New 
Brunswick  Presbytery,  May  22,  1751,  and  on  his  ac- 
ceptance of  it  he  was  ordained.  The  civil  license  ob- 
tained as  required  by  law  in  such  cases  curiously  illustrates 
the    dilhculties    in    the    way    of     "dissenting"    preachers 

1  See  letter  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  November  24,  1752,  in  which  he  also  alludes  to  a 
recent  interview  in  New  Jersey  with  Mr.  Davies,  who  told  him  then  "  of  the  probability 
of  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Todd,  a  young  man  of  good  learning  and  of  a  pious  disposition, 
in  a  part  of  Virginia  near  to  him." 

2  Seven  such  places  had  with  difficulty  been  secured.  Foote's  "  Sketches  of  Virginia," 
second  series,  p.  45.  In  1618  a  law  had  been  passed  in  Virginia  which  enacted  that 
"every  person  should  go  to  church  on  Sundays  and  holy  days,  or  lie  neck  and  heels 
that  night,  and  be  a  slave  to  the  Colony  the  following  week."  For  the  s-cond  offense 
he  was  to  be  a  slave  for  a  month,  and  for  the  third,  a  year  and  a  day.  Cf.  Stith's 
"  History,"  p.  148.  In  1642  a  law  was  passed  providing  that  "  no  minister  shall  be 
permitted  to  officiate  in  the  country  but  such  as  shall  produce  to  the  governor  a  testi- 
monial that  he  hath  received  his  ordination  from  some  bishop  in  England ;  and  shall 
then  subscribe  to  be  conformable  to  the  orders  and  constitutions  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land; and  if  any  other  person,  pretending  himself  to  be  a  minister,  shall,  contran,' to 
this  act,  presume  to  teach  or  preach,  publicly  or  privately,  the  governor  and  council  are 
hereby  desired  and  empowered  to  suspend  and  silence  the  person  so  offending  :  and, 
upon  his  obstinate  persistence,  to  compel  him  to  depart  the  country  with  the  first  con- 
venience." Cf.  Bishop's  "  Memoir  of  Rice,"  p.  38,  foot-note.  Mr.  Samuel  Morris  and 
his  friends  who  were  accustomed  to  meet  at  his  house,  known  as  Morris'  Reading- 
House,  for  the  purpose  of  reading  on  the  Sabbath  "  Luther  on  the  Galatians,"  Boston's 
■"  Fourfold  State,"  Whitetield's  "  Sermons,"  etc.,  were  called  upon  by  the  court  to 
assign  reasons  for  their  absence  from  the  parish  churches  and  to  "  declare  to  what  de- 
nomination they  belonged."  Happily  it  occurred  to  them  to  suggest  that  they  were 
Lutherans,  and  as  no  law  or  precedent  was  discovered  to  direct  the  court  how  to  proceed 
against  the    Lutherans  the  suspected  persons  were  released.     Bishop's  "  Rice,"  pp. 

43i  44- 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  87 

in  those   days.      The   following  is  a  copy  of  the   record  : 

Wednesday,  April  22,  1752. 

Present,  the  Governor,  William  Fairfax,  John  Blair,  William 
Nelson,  Esqrs.,  William  Dawson,  D.D.,  John  Lewis,  Thomas 
Nelson,  Philip  Grymes,  Peyton  Randolph,  Richard  Corbin,  Philip 
Ludwell,  Esqrs. 

John  Todd,  a  dissenting  minister,  this  day  in  Court  took  the 
oath  appointed  by  the  Act  of  Parliament  to  be  taken  instead  of  the 
oath  of  allegiance  and  supremacy  and  the  abrogation  oath,  and 
subscribed  the  last-mentioned  oath,  and  repeated  and  subscribed 
the  test.  And  thereupon,  on  his  motion,  he  is  allowed  to  officiate 
as  an  assistant  to  Samuel  Davies,  a  dissenting  minister,  in  such 
places  as  are  already  licensed  by  this  Court  for  meeting  of  dis- 
senters. 

This  ofificial  paper  looks  more  like  a  restraining  order 
than  a  license,  and  doubtless  was  intended  as  such.  But 
the  compulsory  arrangement,  says  Foote, 

proved  very  agreeable  to  the  seven  congregations,  as  it  left  them 
;all  in  connection  with  Mr.  Davies  ;  and  equally  pleasing  to  Mr. 
Davies,  as  it  gave  him  more  frequent  opportunities  for  those  mis- 
sionary excursions  in  which  he  delighted,  the  influence  of  which  is 
felt  to  this  day ;  and  no  less  acceptable  to  Mr.  Todd,  who  enjoyed 
the  experience  and  council  of  his  friend,  with  the  privilege  of 
missionary  excursions. 

Mr.  Todd  was  accordingly  installed,  November  12, 
1752,  by  Hanover  Presbytery,  "into  the  pastoral  charge 
of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  in  and  about  the  upper 
part  of  Hanover  County,  Va."^  The  discourse  was  by 
Samuel  Davies,  and  was  afterward  published  "at  the 
desire  of  the  hearers  and  humbly  dedicated  to  the  reverend 
clergy  of  the  established  church  in  Virginia,  by  S.  Davies, 
V.  D.  M."' 

1  At  Davies's  suggestion  Jonathan  Edwards  had  previously,  when  dismissed  from 
Northampton,  been  called  to  this  iield.    See  "  Bellamy  Papers,"  and  Webster,  p.  609. 

2  Extracts  from  the  "Dedication"  will  be  found  in  Foote.  By  a  happy  fortune  the 
manuscript  of  this  remarkable  discourse  has  found  a  place  of  security  in  the  region 
whither  Todd's  descendants  migrated,  and  where  many  of  them  have  been  laid  to  rest. 


88  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Todd  was  now  established  in  the  work  which  he  was  per- 
mitted to  prosecute  in  Virginia  for  nearly  forty-two  years. 
The  field  was  soon  visited,  and  a  remarkable  impulse  given 
to  religion,  by  Whitefield.      To  him  Todd  writes,  June  26, 

1755  : 

The  impressions  of  the  day  you  preached  last  here,  at  my 
meeting-house,  can,  I  believe,  never  wear  out  of  my  mind ;  never 
did  I  feel  anything  of  the  kind  more  distressing  than  to  part  with 
you,  and  that  not  merely  for  my  own  sake,  but  that  of  the  multi- 
tudes that  stood  longing  to  hear  more  of  the  news  of  salvation 
from  you.  I  still  have  the  lively  image  of  the  people  of  God 
drowned  in  tears,  multitudes  of  hardy  gentlemen  that  perhaps 
never  wept  for  their  poor  souls  before  standing  aghast,  all  with 
signs  of  eagerness  to  attend  to  what  they  heard,  and  their  signifi- 
cant tears,  expressive  of  the  sorrow  of  their  hearts  that  they  had 
so  long  neglected  their  souls.  I  returned  home  like  one  that  had 
sustained  some  amazing  loss  ;  and  that  I  might  contribute  more 
than  ever  to  the  salvation  of  perishing  multitudes  amongst  us,  I 
resolved  I  would  labor  to  obtain  and  exert  more  of  that  sound 
fire  which  the  God  of  all  grace  had  so  abundantly  bestowed  upon 
you  for  the  good  of  mankind.  To  the  praise  of  rich  grace  be  it 
spoken,  I  have  had  the  comfort  of  many  solemn  Sabbaths  since  I 
saw  you,  when,  I  am  persuaded,  the  power  of  God  has  attended 
his  word,  for  sundry  weeks  together  ;  and  in  my  auditory,  which 
was  more  crowded  through  your  means  than  it  had  been  before, 
I  could  scarce  see  an  individual  whose  countenance  did  not  indi- 
cate the  concern  of  their  souls  about  eternal  things.  And  blessed 
be  God  those  appearances  are  not  yet  wholly  fled  from  our 
assembly. 

I  was  by  orders  of  Presbytery  to  attend  the  installation  of  Mr. 
Henry,  the  4th  of  the  month,  at  Lunenburg,  about  a  hundred  miles 
southwest  of  this  place,  and  we  administered  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  the  Sabbath  following.  We  preached  Thursday, 
Friday,  Saturday,  Sabbath,  and  Monday.  There  was  comfortable 
evidence  of  the  power  of  God  with  us  every  day  ;  believers  were 

After  a  day  in  the  library  of  Wabash  College  I  was  recalled  by  the  president  to  examine 
a  case  of  relics,  where  I  discovered  this  very  MS.  of  Davies,  thick,  firmly  sewed,  yellow, 
but  perfectly  preserved.  The  penmanship  is  precise,  the  wide  margin  crowded  with 
scriptural  references,  the  Greek  mottoes  from  Clemens  Alexandrinus  and  Chrysostom 
beautifully  transcribed,  points  and  all,  and  the  psalm  to  be  sung  at  the  close  written 
down  entire. 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  89 

■more  quickened  and  sinners  were  much  alarmed.  Many  of  them 
talked  with  Mr.  Henry  and  me  with  great  desire  to  know  what 
they  should  do  to  be  saved.  One  I  remember  came  to  me  trem- 
bhng  and  astonished,  the  nearest  image  I  ever  saw  of  the  trembling 
jailor,  crying,  "What  shall  I  do  to  get  an  interest  in  Christ?"  In 
my  return  home  I  made  an  excursion  to  preach  to  a  number  of 
people  who  had  never  before  heard  a  "  New  Light,"  as  they  call 
me.  I  hope  the  word  of  God  was  attended  with  divine  power  to 
many  of  their  hearts.  ^ 

The  negotiations  which  had  already  been  opened  to  send 
Davies  to  England  in  behalf  of  Princeton  College,  and  which 
resulted  in  his  transfer  to  the  presidency  of  that  institution, 
alarmed  the  Virginia  Presbyterians,  who  looked  up  to 
Davies  as  their  father.  No  one  was  quicker  to  take  the 
alarm  than  Todd,  on  whom  the  change  would  impose  new 
and  grave  responsibilities.  Of  him  Davies  thinks  when  con- 
templating the  Atlantic  voyage.  ' '  I  also  am  encouraged, ' ' 
he  says,  "from  the  reflection  that  my  congregation  will  not 
probably  suffer  in  my  absence,  as  Mr.  Wright,  I  expect,  is 
well  accomplished  for  the  place  ;  and  my  cautious  and  pru- 
dent Rev.  Mr.  Todd  will  be  so  near  at  hand  to  assist  in 
cases  of  difficulty."^  Afterward,  when  the  invitation  to 
Princeton  came,  he  was  at  first  disposed  to  decline  it,^  but 
when  he  finally  concluded  to  go  Todd  became  the  superin- 
tendent of  affairs  and  bishop  for  our  church  "in  the  back 
parts  of  Virginia." 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  throughout  this  period  much 
labor  was  bestowed  by  the  Presbyterians  upon  the  slave 
population. 

Last  Sunday  I  had  a  sacrament  [wrote  Davies],  assisted  by  my 
good  brother  and  next  neighbor,  Mr.  Todd.  It  was  a  time  of  un- 
usual anxiety  to  me.     I  hope  it  was  a  refreshing  time  to  some 

1  See  Gillies's  "  Collections."    The  above  letter  is  reprinted  by  Foote. 

2  Davies's  "  Journal,"  July  25,  1753. 

3  Davies's  "  Sermons,"  Barnes  ed.,  Vol.   III.,  p.  467,  foot-note. 


90  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

hungry  souls.     I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  table  of  the  Lord 
adorned  with  about  forty-four  black  faces. ^ 

As  early  as    1755   Todd  had  a  hundred  of   these  people 
"under  hi?  instruction."^ 

Public  affairs  also  began  to  require  the  attention  of  our 
ministers.  The  discussions  and  conflicts  which  brought  on 
the  Revolution  were  warmly  maintained  in  the  valley  of 
Virginia.  Our  ministers  and  people  were  loyal  to  liberty. 
Archibald  Alexander  says  : 

That  man  will  go  on  a  desperate  adventure  who  shall  proceed 
to  hunt  out  the  Presbyterian  Tories  of  the  Revolution.  Our  min- 
isters were  Whigs,  patriots,  haters  of  tyranny,  known  abettors  of 
the  very  earliest  resistance,  and  often  soldiers  in  the  field.  ^ 

It  is  not  surprising  then  that  Todd  was  ' '  a  staunch 
Whig."^  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Han- 
over after  the  Declaration  of  Independence  that  body 
addressed  a  memorial  to  the  Virginia  House  of  Delegates, 
identifying  themselves  with  the  patriot  cause.  It  was 
signed  by  John  Todd  as  moderator.^  In  1785,  on  the  13th 
of  August,  at  Bethel,  Augusta  County,  an  important  con- 
vention was  held  to  oppose  a  scheme  for  general  taxation 
in  support  of  religion — a  scheme  which  Patrick  Henry  and 
others  advocated.      Todd  was  chairman  of  the  convention.® 

To  his  other  work  the  care  of  a  classical  school  was  now 
to  be  added.  The  chief  motive  seems  to  have  been  the 
preparation  of  young  men  for  the  ministry.  David  Rice, 
a  member  of  Todd's  congregation,  who  afterward  became 
"  Father  Rice"  of  Kentucky,  began  the  study  of  Latin  at 

1  Foote's  "  Sketches  of  Virginia,"  second  series,  p.  47. 

2  Foote's  "  Sketches  of  Virginia,"  first  series,  p.  286. 

^Prbtceton  Review,  Vol.  XIX.,  p.  482.  Cf.  Miller's  "  Life  of  Rodgers,"  p.  146,  and 
Bishop's  "  Memoir  of  Rice,"  Chap.  XV. 

4  Foote's  "  Sketches  of  Virginia,"  second  series,  p.  47. 

5  Davidson's  "  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,"  p.  37,  and  Foote's 
"  Sketches,"  first  series,  pp.  323-4. 

6  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  p.  37.     Foote's  "  Sketches,"  first  series,  pp.  342-4. 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  9 1 

this  school.^  James  Waddel,  Wirt's  "blind  preacher," 
who  had  emigrated  from  Ulster  in  Ireland,  and  whose 
family,  it  is  possible,  was  there  not  unknown  to  Todd,  be- 
came an  assistant  instructor,  and  under  the  principal's 
direction  pursued  the  study  of  divinity.'  The  needed  fur- 
niture of  books  was  secured  for  the  school  from  England, 
the  London  merchant,  John  Thornton,  contributing  fifty 
pounds  sterling  to  promote  the  object,  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Gordon,  with  whom  the  correspondence  was  carried  on 
and  who  interested  others  in  the  enterprise,  himself  giving 
liberally.^  This  donation  of  books  was  destined  to  serve 
most  important  ends  beyond  the  original  design.  By  and 
by,  with  Mr.  Todd's  increasing  age,  the  classical  school 
declined.  No  successor  appeared  to  conduct  it.  Other 
academies,  with  more  ambitious  claims,  had  now  been 
established.  It  was  the  venerable  preceptor's  happy  sug- 
gestion, therefore,  that  the  library  be  transferred  to 
Kentucky,  for  the  use  of  the  students  of  Transylvania 
Seminary.  In  that  region  it  was  natural  that  he  should  be 
interested,  where  his  old  pupil  Rice  was  making  himself 
famous,  and  where  James  Moore,*  who  married  Todd's 
daughter,  was  to  have  the  new  institution  in  charge. 
Accordingly,  among  the  names  of  the  founders  of  Transyl- 
vania University  that  of  the  Rev.  John  Todd  of  Hanover 
Presbytery  in  Virginia  stands  first,  ^  with  that  of  his 
nephew,  Colonel  John  Todd,  member  of  the  Virginia 
legislature  from  the  county  of  Fayette. 

In  the  later  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Todd  was  unable  to  per- 

1  Bishop's  "  Memoir  of  Rice,"  pp.  28,  55. 

sFoote's  "  Sketches,"  first  series,  p.  351.     Sprague's  "  Annals,"  Vol.  III.,  p.  236. 

3  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  pp.  292-3. 

4  The  Rev.  Dr.  James  Moore  was  originally  a  Presbyterian,  but,  upon  his  trials  for 
licensure,  meeting  what  he,  perhaps  rightly,  esteemed  too  little  charity,  he  took  orders 
in  the  Episcopal  Church.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Daniel  McCalla,  of  South  CaroHua,  also 
married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Todd. 

6  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  p.  289. 


92  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

form  all  the  duties  of  his  pastoral  charge.  Severe  labors 
in  the  Virginia  wilderness,  during  the  ardor  of  youth,  had 
exhausted  his  vigor.  Compelled  to  cease  entirely  from 
preaching  tours  in  "the  parts  beyond,"  and  often  detained 
by  ill-health  from  the  church  courts,  both  he  and  James 
Waddel  were  severely  criticized  by  the  younger  men,  who 
"knew  not  Joseph,"  though  it  was  into  Joseph's  labors  that 
they  were  so  cheerfully  entering.  A  foolish  slander  as  to 
his  laxity  in  the  admission  of  candidates  to  the  communion 
appeared  to  Todd's  sensitiveness  deserving  of  reply,  and 
he  made  his  way  to  Presbytery  in  the  Cove  congregation, 
Albemarle,  July,  1793.  Having  fully  vindicated  himself 
he  set  out  for  home  on  Saturday,  the  27th,  but  on  the 
same  day  was  found  in  the  road  lifeless.  Either  his 
spirited  horse  had  thrown  him,  or  he  had  suffered  from  an 
apoplectic  attack. 

John  Todd  of  Virginia  was  evidently  a  man  of  solid  and 
useful  rather  than  brilliant  qualities.  With  a  vigorous  and 
well-trained  mind,  in  circumstances  offering  abundant 
scope  for  the  highest  abilities,  he  gave  himself  with  entire 
devotion  to  the  service  of  the  church.  He  w^as  an  impres- 
sive preacher.  "Heard  Mr.  Todd  preach  an  honest 
sermon,"  is  Davies's  record  in  his  diary.  Colonel  Gordon 
said,  on  hearing  him  at  the  communion,  November  i, 
1761  : 

I  never  heard  a  sermon,  but  one  from  Mr.  Davies,  that  I  heard 
with  more  attention  and  delight.  Oh,  if  the  Lord  would  be 
pleased  to  send  us  a  minister  of  as  much  piety  as  Mr.  Todd.^ 

It  was  of  such  a  father  that  John  Todd,  the  younger,  was 
born,  in  Louisa  County,  Va.,  October,  1772.  The  region 
itself  was  in  its  variety  and  beauty  of  scenery  well  fitted  to 
quicken  the  faculties  of  a  boy,  and  the  manse  of  Provi- 
dence parish,  which  was  at  the  same  time  the  seminary,  by 
its  daily  routine  fostering  a  high  intellectual  life,  also  gave 

1  Webster's  ''  History,"  p.  609. 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  93 

frequent  welcome  to  guests  who  would  have  shone  in  the 
most  brilliant  assembly.  Here  the  pastor's  son  obtained 
his  first  knowledge  of  books,  and  here  he  was  molded  by  the 
stately  manners  of  the  society  around  him.  The  prepara- 
tory course  having  been  finished  at  the  parsonage  and  at 
Washington  Academy,  he  was  sent  to  Dickinson  College, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  graduated.  His  theological 
studies  at  Princeton  were  in  the  days  of  Dr.  John  Wither- 
spoon,  and  when  they  were  completed  he  returned  to 
Virginia  to  begin  his  ministerial  career  in  his  native  county. 
Licensed  by  Hanover  Presbytery,  September  13,  1800,  he 
' '  preached  his  first  sermon  where  his  father  preached  his 
last."'  For  some  time  he  served  the  churches  left  vacant 
by  his  father.  Having  previously,  in  1795,  married,  he 
removed  to  the  West  in  1806,^  and  settled  in  Louisville, 
Ky. ,  where  he  kept  alive  the  family  traditions  in  establish- 
ing a  school.  He  first  connected  himself,  October  10, 
1809,  with  the  Presbytery  of  West  Lexington,  but  was 
received  October  3,  18 10,  by  Transylvania  Presbytery. 
Though  occupied  with  his  school  he  was  accustomed  to 
preach  at  various  points  in  Kentucky,  and  sometimes 
spent  a  Sabbath  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Ohio  in  the 
territory  of  Indiana. 

It  was  just  at  this  time  that  Craighead's  erratic  theology 
was  producing  great  excitement  throughout  Kentucky. 
Notwithstanding  the  previous  admonition  of  Synod  (Oc- 
tober, 1806),  he  had  in  1809  preached  and  printed  the 
famous  sermon  on  "Regeneration."  He  was  understood 
to  maintain,  with  other  clearly  Pelagian  tenets,  that  faith 
and  sanctification  are  effects  of  the  written  word,  apart  from 
any  direct  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  His  views  had  at- 
tracted a  considerable  number  of  independent  minds,  and 
among  them  John  Todd.      It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  fasci- 

1  Foote's  "  Sketches,"  second  series,  p.  49. 

2  Not  1809,  the  date  which  Davidson,  followed  by  Foote,  gives. 


94 


EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 


nations  of  his  oratory,  acknowledged  by  jurists  like  John 
Breckinridge,  had  prejudiced  Todd's  judgment.  The  lat- 
ter, however,  maintained  a  correspondence  w^ith  his  father's 
former  neighbor,  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  with  reference 
to  the  points  in  dispute,  seeking  light  and  counsel.  Such 
good-tempered  discussion,  wdth  his  own  solitary  reflection, 
would  probably  have  led  a  candid  man  like  Todd  gradually 
back  to  the  accepted  theology.  But  these  were  times  of 
war.  Kentucky  Presbyterians  had  suffered  too  much  an- 
noyance from  heretics  to  be  in  a  patient  mood.  They  drew 
the  scimitar  at  once.  Todd,  having  been  accused  of  teach- 
ing Craigheadism,  was  arraigned  by  Transylvania  Presbytery 
August  14,  18 1 2,  and  after  trial  was  admonished.  This 
Presbyterial  onset  not  being  calculated  to  calm  one's  judg- 
ment, it  is  perhaps  not  surprising  that  the  accused  contin- 
ued to  preach  the  views  which  admonition  had  failed  to  en- 
lighten. Upon  the  advice  of  Synod  he  was  therefore  sus- 
pended, April  15,  18 1 3,  but  October  13,  1817,  the  contro- 
versy was  amicably  adjusted.^ 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Dr.  James  Moore,  Todd's 
sister's  husband,  had  experienced  what  he  and  his  friends 
considered  needless  rigor  w^hen  seeking  licensure  from 
Presbytery.  Perhaps  it  will  now  be  generally  thought 
that  a  larger  measure  of  kindness  might  have  retained  that 
valuable  man-  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.      At  any  rate 

1  "  Alinutes  Transylvania  Presbytery,"  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  35,  52,  119.  "  Minutes  Synod  of 
Kentucky,"  Vol.  II.,  pp.  31,36,61,105.  Cf.  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  p.  276.  The 
tone  of  Davidson's  account  of  this  affair  is  needlessly  offensive.  His  book  is  valuable — 
the  result  of  independent  study  of  original  documents  and  written  not  unattractively. 
It  is,  however,  too  warm  for  history.  In  his  notice  of  the  Cumberland  difficulty,  of 
Craighead,  and  of  the  separation  of  1837,  he  put  himself  too  near  the  fray.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  forty  years  his  expletives  seem  quite  too  fierce.  The  treatment  of  Todd  is  only 
a  single  instance  illustrating  the  justice  of  Dr.  Alexander's  criticism  :  "  We  think  that 
in  some  cases  there  is  too  much  minuteness  of  detail,  as  in  describing  certain  irregulari- 
ties ;  and  in  others  there  is  what  may  be  called  too  rigid  a  fidelity  in  recording  facts 
which  might  have  been  better  left  in  perpetual  oblivion.''  See  Princeton  Review,  VoL 
XIX.,  p.  308. 

-  Davidson's  "  Kentucky,"  pp.  295-6,  foot-note. 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  95 

this  household  tradition  must  have  affected  the  mind  of 
Todd  and  rendered  a  judicial  process  the  more  offensive. 
That  indeed  does  not  seem  to  be  the  successful  means  of 
curing,  though  doubtless  it  is  sometimes  the  necessary 
instrument  for  cutting  off  heretics.  But  in  this  same 
region,  where  the  ability  and  taste  for  theological  debate 
yet  survive,  Todd  had  afterward  the  satisfaction  of  illus- 
trating the  advantage  of  milder  methods  A  young  Ken- 
tucky preacher,  John  A.  McClung,  who  was  creating  a 
considerable  sensation  by  his  powers  of  argument  and 
oratory,  early  in  his  career  was  distressed  by  serious 
doubts.      His  biographer  says  : 

He  promptly  stated  his  condition  to  Presbytery  and  asked  to  be 
relieved.  In  the  discussion  which  ensued  a  motion  was  made  to 
go  to  the  extent  of  expulsion.  The  Rev.  John  Todd,  a  noble  and 
venerable  soldier  of  the  cross,  rose  and  said  :  "  Brethren,  I  hope 
no  such  action  will  be  taken.  Brother  McClung  is  honest ;  he  is  a 
seeker  after  truth,  but  under  a  cloud.  Give  him  time.  Relieve 
him  as  he  asks.  Do  nothing  more.  The  light  will  again  dawn 
upon  him  and  he  will  surely  return."^ 

The  counsel  of  Todd  was  followed,  and  the  light  did  dawn. 
A  valuable  reputation  was  spared  and  the  usefulness  of  a 
minister's  life  defended. 

During  Mr.  Todd's  residence  at  Louisville  he  had  occa- 
sionally preached,  as  early  as  1808  apparently,  at  Charles- 
town,  Ind.,  whither  he  sometimes  took  his  family  in  the 
summer  to  avoid  the  heat  of  a  southern  city.  These 
excursions  were  continued  until  the  autumn  of  1817,  when, 
in  October,  the  disagreement  with  Presbytery  having  been 
adjusted,  he  removed  to  Indiana  and  took  the  pastoral 
charge  of  Charlestown  church.'^  Here  he  remained,  a  part 
of  the  time  also   maintaining  a  school,   until   September, 

1  McClung's  "  Western  Adventure,"  p.  vii. 
3  Dickey's  "  Brief  History."  p.  14. 


96  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

1824/  when  he  returned  to  Kentucky  and  settled  at  Paris, 
there  estabHshing  a  classical  academy.  Though  his  health 
was  now  somewhat  impaired  he  also  continued  to  preach 
as  opportunity  was  presented,  but  in  1831  crossed  the 
Ohio  again,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the  southern  part 
of  Marion  County,  whither  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Judge 
James  Morrison  and  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Todd,  had  preceded 
him.  The  church  of  South  Marion  having  been  organized, 
he  supplied  it  and  the  church  of  Eagle  Creek,  both  now 
extinct,  until  his  death,  which  occurred,  unexpectedly, 
from  apoplexy,  December  13,  1839.  His  remains  rest  in 
the  cemetery  at  Greenwood,  Ind. 

Mr.  Todd  had  enjoyed  better  opportunities  for  literary 
culture  in  early  life  than  most  of  his  contemporaries  in 
the  western  woods,  and  naturally  the  tradition  of  his 
scholarship  survives  him.  He  was  especially  strong  in  the 
Greek,  employing  constantly  the  Septuagint  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  original  version  of  the  New  when 
prosecuting  his  biblical  studies,  and  not  uncommonly  em- 
ploying the  latter  at  family  worship.  He  habitually  read 
the  fathers  in  the  original.  A  son  of  another  of  our 
Indiana  pioneers  retains  vivid  impressions  of  his  "won- 
derful library.'"  "It  was  full  of  the  old  books."  Mr. 
Kent  recollects.  Richard  Baxter  was  a  favorite,  and  in 
the  peculiar  views  at  one  time  entertained  by  Mr.  Todd  it 
was  claimed  that  he  was  only  Baxter's  disciple.  The  style 
of  his  preaching  was  controlled  by  his  studious  habits,  and 
was  rather  argumentative  and  biblical  than  rhetorical.      It 

1  He  was  not  dismissed  to  West  Lexington  Presbytery  until  April  5,  1S27.  See 
"  Minutes  Madison  Presbytery,"  Vol.  L,  pp.  45,  46.  The  letter  of  dismission  was  pre- 
sented to  and  received  by  Ebenezer  Presbytery,  April  15,  1829. 

2  It  is  probable  that  this  library  preserved  a  portion  of  the  Gordon  gift  from  England. 
Most  of  the  books  have  been  scattered  and  lost.  By  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Henry  G.  Todd, 
of  Danville,  I  have  in  my  possession  a  volume  of  the  Monthly  Review,  London,  1753, 
with  the  autograph  of  Samuel  Davies  on  the  title  page,  and  on  a  fly  leaf,  in  beautiful 
chirography,  "  John  Todd's  book,  lober,  1760." 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  97 

was  usually  extemporaneous,  though  the  preparation  was 
careful  and  often  written. 

By  inheritance  from  both  branches  of  his  family  Mr. 
Todd  held  a  number  of  slaves,  which  he  brought  with  him 
to  Kentucky,  but  as  he  did  not  recognize  the  right  of 
slavery  he  received  these  servants  as  a  trust  for  which  he 
was  to  be  held  responsible  to  God.  He  taught  them  to 
read  the  Scriptures  and  gave  them  careful  religious 
instruction.  As  they  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  they 
received  their  freedom,  a  condition  which  at  that  time  was 
not  prohibited  by  the  state  law. 

The  manners  of  Mr.  Todd  were  of  the  old  school, 
especially  polite.     The  Rev.  N.  S.  Dickey  writes  : 

I  saw  him  at  my  father's.  He  came  in  with  his  hat  under  his 
arm,  having  taken  it  off  before  he  reached  the  outer  door,  and 
with  a  very  cordial  but  formal  greeting  met  my  father  and  mother. 
I  noticed  the  old  gentleman's  politeness  and  dignity,  and  though 
but  a  child  spoke  to  my  mother  upon  the  subject.  She  took  occa- 
sion to  commend  him  as  a  model  of  deportment.  "Why, 
mother,"  said  I,  "a  neighbor's  boy  declares  that  Mr.  Todd  takes 
off  his  hat  to  the  niggers."  "Well,"  she  answered,  "the  negroes 
uncover  their  heads  out  of  respect  to  Mr.  Todd,  and  surely  he 
would  not  allow  them  to  excel  him  in  courtesy.  I  wish  all  my 
sons  might  be  as  good  and  polite  as  he." 

Mr.  Todd  seems  to  have  been  as  hospitable  as  he 
was  urbane.  The  manse  at  Charlestown  was  a  well-known 
"missionary  stopping-place."^  The  old  logs  listened  to 
many  an  hour's  noble  conversation,  while  around  the  big 
fire  the  guests  and  the  host  recounted  God's  past  mercies 
and  laid  plans  for  the  highway  in  the  wilderness.  At  that 
chimney  corner  Martin,  Crowe,  Dickey,  Reed,  Bush, 
Fowler,  Day,  Goodale,  and  indeed  all  the  pioneers  of  that 
early  day  found  a  welcome. 

In  person  Mr.  Todd  was  rather  stout,  about  five  feet 

1  Cf.  MS.  diary  of  Grin  Fowler. 


98  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

eight  inches  in  height,  weighing  usually  one  hundred  and 
eighty  pounds.      His  head  was  bald. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  written  from  Green- 
wood, February  7,  1835,^  throw  some  light  upon  the 
occupations  and  spirit  of  his  later  years  : 

My  settlement  after  I  came  to  this  vicinity  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
people  very  generally  possessing  religion,  but  connected  mostly 
with  the  Methodists  and  Baptists.  Few  as  we  are,  however,  and 
not  generally  in  independent  circumstances,  there  is  a  readiness 
expressed  to  build  a  house  of  worship.  One  of  our  members,  in 
a  situation  the  most  central  for  the  church,  has  offered  to  furnish 
the  ground  and  to  aid  in  the  undertaking.  And  last  season  they 
expressed  a  particular  desire  that  as  I  was  unsettled  1  should 
make  my  residence  among  them,  with  the  generous  offer  of  aiding 
me  in  my  support,  furnishing  ground  necessary  during  my  life, 
and  erecting  for  me  necessary  buildings,  with  the  consideration 
that  I  should  give  some  aid  to  a  few  young  persons,  not  confining 
myself  from  other  duties.  This  was  the  offer  of  two  families.  .  .  . 
During  the  last  year  my  preaching,  with  little  exception,  was  con- 
fined to  the  people  of  this  church  ^  and  New  Providence,^  to 
whom  I  preached  on  the  Sabbath — once  a  month  only  at  New 
Providence,  except  that  occasionally  I  preached  to  them  on  other 
Sabbath  afternoons,  when  in  the  forenoon  I  had  preached  to  the 
people  of  South  INIarion. 

The  stately  movement  of  these  sentences  and  their  dig- 
nified formality  are  as  good  as  a  portrait.  It  was  evi- 
dently a  Virginia  gentleman  of  the  olden  time  who  held 
the  pen. 

Also  in  18 1 7  came  to  Indiana,  the  same  year  as  Todd, 
James  Balch,  son  of  James  and  Anne  (Goodwyn)  Balch, 
who  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  County,  N.  C,  December 
25,  1750.      His  three  elder  brothers  were  all  distinguished 

1  The  penmanship  is  remarkably  precise  and  bears  a  striking  similarity  to  that  of  his 
father. 

2  Eagle  Creek  church. 

3  This  now  extinct  organization  in  the  vicinity  of  Greenwood  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  Shelbyville,  which  was  first  called  New  Providence.  See  Dickey's  "  Brief  History," 
p.  9,  and  Sinter's  "  History  of  Shelbyville  Church,"  p.  2. 


AID    FROM    NEW    ENGLAND.  99 

Presbyterian  clergymen.  Hezekiah  Balch,  original,  in- 
trepid, imprudent,  the  first  president  of  Greenville  College, 
Tennessee,  made  himself  conspicuous  as  a  controversialist 
and  was  sooner  or  later  summoned  to  the  bar  of  almost 
every  ecclesiastical  court  to  which  he  was  amenable. 
Hezekiah  James  Balch,  five  years  younger,  was  a  member 
of  the  Mecklenburg  Convention  (May  19,  1775),  and  had 
*'an  important  agency"  ^  in  forming  the  "Declaration" 
which  has  been  held  to  be  the  germ  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  in  Philadelphia  the  following  year.  His 
personal  presence  was  impressive  ;  he  was  an  excellent 
scholar;  and  his  early  death  in  the  summer  of  1775 
disappointed  the  hopes  of  many  in  the  church.^  Dr. 
Stephen  Bloomer  Balch,  born  April  5,  1747,  lived  until 
September  7,  1833,  having  been  able  after  passing  the  age 
of  fourscore  to  preach  with  power.  ^  With  such  brothers 
James,  the  youngest  of  the  four,  passed  his  childhood.  He 
seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  first  licentiates  of  Abingdon 
Presbytery,  and  took  charge,  October,  1786,  the  year  after 
the  Presbytery  was  formed,  of  Sinking  Spring  congrega- 
tion. He  was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees  of 
Greenville  College,  and  in  the  church  courts  was  an 
earnest  defender  of  sound  doctrine  and  rigid  order.  Re- 
moving to  Kentucky  he  was  received  from  Abingdon  by 
Transylvania  Presbytery,  October  i,  1799  ;  settled  in 
Logan  County  ;  and  there  had  an  opportunity  to  display 
the  bold  and  independent  qualities  which  characterized  his 
family.  An  original  member  of  Cumberland  Presbytery, 
he  put  himself  into  prominent  opposition  toward  the  new 

1  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  three  which  drafted  the  paper  adopted  by  the 
convention  May  20.  Cf.  Lossing's  "  Pictorial  Field-book  of  the  Revolution,"  Vol. 
II.,  p.  412. 

2  "  There  is  nowhere  a  monument  or  tradition  to  direct  to  the  grave  of  Hezekiah 
James  Balch,  or  anywhere  a  living  mortal  to  claim  him  as  ancestor."  —  Foote's 
"Sketches  of  North  Carolina,"  p.  441. 

3  The  notices  of  the  Balch  family  in  Sprague's  "  Annals  "  contain  but  a  single  sentence, 
and  that  an  inaccurate  one,  with  reference  to  the  youngest  brother. 


lOO  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

measures  inaugurated  by  that  body.  He  openly  disap- 
proved of  the  extravagant  methods  employed  during  the 
McGready  revival.  That  he  should  have  been  censured 
by  McGready'  for  his  course  need  occasion  no  surprise, 
but  his  conservatism  scarcely  deserves  the  rebuke  of  a 
historian.  - 

In  1817  Mr.  Balch  removed  to  Sullivan  County,  Ind. , 
already  having  completed  his  sixty-sixth  year.  Founding 
the  Hopewell  church,  on  Turman's  Creek,  he  continued 
to  labor  there  until  his  death,  which  occurred  January  12, 
1 82 1.  He  was  a  resolute  and  sometimes  no  doubt  ap- 
peared a  stubborn  man.  His  mental  acquirements  were 
what  his  favorable  early  opportunities  would  lead  us  to  ex- 
pect.     He  was  a  faithful  and  pungent  preacher. 

Until  recently  there  had  been  no  stone  to  mark  in  an 
open  field  the  sunken  grave  of  a  pioneer  who  bore  and 
honored  one  of  the  notable  names  of  his  generation.  At 
the  spring  meeting  of  Vincennes  Presbytery  (1879)  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  reinter  the  body.  This  was  done 
on  the  29th  of  the  following  October.  At  his  own  request 
Mr.  Balch  had  been  buried  near  the  old  Hopewell  meeting- 
house— a  comfortable  log  house  near  Turman's  Creek,  in 
Sullivan  County,  Ind.  The  church  had  long  ago  dis- 
appeared, and  the  land  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  one 
who  knew  nothing  of  the  grave,  which  had  been  plowed 
over  several  years.  The  remains  were  removed  to  the 
Presbyterian  burying-ground  near  Graysville,  in  the  same 
township.  Mr.  James  Johnson,  who  almost  sixty  years 
before  attended  the  funeral,   was  present. 

1  "About  this  time  the  Rev.  J.  B.  came  here  and  found  a  Mr.  R.  to  join  him.  In  a  little 
time  he  involved  our  infant  churches  in  confusion,  disputation,  etc.,  opposed  the  doc- 
trines preached  here,  ridiculed  the  whole  work  of  the  revival,  formed  a  considerable 
party,  etc.,  etc." — McGready's  "  Posthumous  Works,"  p.  viii. 

2Cf.  Gillett,  Vol.  II.,  p.  159. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

A  Notable  Quartet. 

1818. 

There  were  now  eleven  congregations  in  the  state. 
Except  Mr.  Balch's  society  on  Turman's  Creek  all  were 
within  the  oldest  neighborhoods,  and  none  ventured  far 
from  the  Wabash  and  the  Ohio.  The  roll  of  settled  labor- 
ers is  a  short  one,  comprising  but  five  names — Scott, 
Robinson,  Dickey,  Todd,  and  Balch.  The  year  18 18 
makes  a  most  valuable  addition  to  the  force,  bringing  two 
remarkable  itinerants,  Orin  Fowler  from  the  Connecticut 
Missionary  Society  and  Ravaud  K.  Rodgers  from  the 
General  Assembly  ;  besides  William  W.  Martin,  another 
Kentucky  volunteer,  and  Isaac  Reed  from  New  England, 
both  of  whom  became  citizens  of  Indiana,  laborious,  influ- 
ential, and  useful  in  an  eminent  degree.  In  this  quartet  of 
1 818  there  was  a  variety  of  gifts  and  graces  as  picturesque 
as  can  well  be  imagined.  If  they  could  have  been  seen 
together  before  the  blazing  logs  of  a  frontier  cabin  the 
dullest  observer  would  have  hugged  the  chimney  corner  to 
watch  their  diversity  of  manner  and  mind.  Mirthfulness 
and  sobriety,  loquacity  and  reticence,  a  polished  urbanity 
and  a  homely  eccentricity,  would  have  been  quickly  appar- 
ent, with  scholarship  and  piety  quite  evenly  distributed. 
Of  the  four,  Mr.  Martin  was  the  first  to  reach  the  state. 
He  only  left  it  for  the  better  country.  If  providence  had 
sent  William  Wirt  to  hear  "Father  Martin"  preach,  the 
famous  description  of  James  Waddel's  eloquence  might 
fitly  have  had  a  companion-piece.      For  many  years  he  was 


I02  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  popular  favorite  throughout  the  southern  half  of 
Indiana,  and  his  name  was  sufficient  to  draw  to  any  rustic 
platform  or  pulpit  an  immense  throng  of  admirers,  accus- 
tomed to  bow  before  the  energy  and  pathos  of  his  oratory. 

William  W.  Martin,  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  was 
born  in  Bedford  County,  Pa.,  August  12,  1781.  He  was 
one  of  four  children,  all  of  whom  became  useful  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  piety  of  his  parents 
made  early  and  deep  impressions  on  his  character.  He 
was  accustomed  to  refer  to  the  solemn  reflections  aw^akened 
by  a  sermon  on  ' '  The  Last  Judgment ' '  which  he  heard  his 
father  read  one  wintry  day  before  he  was  eight  years  old. 
The  regular  observance  of  family  worship,  and  especially 
the  instructions  and  example  of  his  mother,  exercised  a 
power  over  his  childhood  which  he  often  gratefully 
acknowledged,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  he  had  already  begun 
to  hope  that  he  might  become  a  Christian  minister. 
Meanwhile,  however,  the  family  had  removed  to  West- 
moreland County,  Pa.,  and  in  the  spring  of  1794  they 
sought  a  home  in  the  wilds  of  Kentucky,  the  depreciation 
■of  continental  money  having  reduced  them  from  comfort  to 
poverty.  Notwithstanding  the  influence  of  reckless  com- 
panions there  was  a  renewal  of  former  religious  impressions 
when  he  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age  and  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Paris,  Ky. ,  then 
under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Rannels.  During  the 
summer  he  wrought  upon  a  farm  and  in  the  winter  at  the 
cooper's  trade.  The  desire  to  become  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  was  still  cherished,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
he  entered  Bourbon  Academy  at  Paris,  under  the  precep- 
torship  of  the  Rev.  John  Lyle.  There  he  remained  five 
years,  and  then  for  two  years  pursued  a  course  of  theology 
under  the  same  instructor.  Receiving  licensure  from  the 
West  Lexington  Presbytery  in  October,  181 2,  he  settled  in 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  I03 

Winchester,  Clark  County,  and  was  ordained  in  the  fall  of 
181 3.  This  first  pastorate  he  held  for  six  years,  being  also 
engaged  a  part  of  the  time  as  teacher  and  editor. 

But  Mr.  Martin  was  restless  under  the  shadow  of  slav- 
ery. Neither  his  judgment  nor  conscience  approved  it, 
and  he  resolved  to  seek  a  settlement  in  a  free  state.  He 
first  crossed  the  Ohio  upon  a  brief  tour  of  observation  in 
1817,^  and  in  May  of  the  year  following  removed  perma- 
nently to  Indiana.  Taking  charge  of  the  congregations  of 
Livonia,  Salem,  and  Blue  River,  he  resided  for  a  year  at 
Salem  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Young,  an  elder,  when  he 
removed  to  the  neighborhood  of  Livonia,  securing  there  a 
little  farm.  It  was  in  this  immediate  vicinity  that  most  of 
his  subsequent  life  was  spent,  for  though  he  several  times 
went  to  other  fields,  the  old  flock  always  called  him  back, 
and  it  never  was  in  his  heart  to  refuse  them.  Livonia  was 
his  home.  Until  his  formal  pastoral  settlement  over  the 
Livonia  church  in  April,  1821,  the  three  congregations 
shared  his  labors  equally,  but  from  that  date  the  Blue  River 
society  was  entrusted  to  other  hands.  After  thirteen  years 
of  continuous  service  at  Livonia  Mr.  Martin  finally  asked 
Presbytery  to  release  him  from  that  charge,  his  service  at 
Salem  having  ceased  two  or  three  years  before.^  He 
removed  in  1831  to  Paoli,  preaching  there  for  a  year,  and 
at  the  same  time  serving  the  Orleans  church,  which  he  had 
himself  organized  September  27,  18 18.  His  subsequent 
removals  were  to  Princeton,  Gibson  County,  where  he 
labored  one  year  ;  to  West  Salem,  where  and  in  adjacent 
fields  he  preached  until  June,  1834  5  ^^^  to  South  Han- 
over, whose  pulpit  he  supplied  until  the  autumn  of  1835. 
It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  Mr.  Martin's  influ- 
ence was  confined  to  his  small  rural  parishes.      Through- 

1  He  then  administered  the  communion  in  a  grove  near  the  village  of  Salem. 

2  The  Rev.  Benjamin  C.  Cressy,  a  polished  preacher  and  a  devoted  man,  came  from 
New  England  and  assumed  the  care  of  the  Salem  congregation  in  the  autumn  of  1829. 


I04  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

out  this  period,  and  through  his  whole  career  in  Indiana, 
he  was  a  tireless  bishop,  traveling  far  and  near  to  serve  the 
entire  Presbyterian  community/ 

Since  his  departure  h'om  Livonia  his  former  flock  had 
been  shepherdless,  but  their  bleating  was  not  in  vain.  In 
November,  1835,  he  resumed  his  pastorate,  and  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  November,  1837,  occurred  his  second 
installation  over  this  church.  Eighty  acres  of  land,  one 
mile  southwest  of  Livonia,  were  now  presented  to  him  by 
the  congregation,  and  there  he  reestablished  his  hospitable 
home.  Six  years  later  the  pastoral  relation  was  again  dis- 
solved (April  5,  1843)  that  he  might  remove  to  Bloom- 
ington  and  superintend  the  education  of  his  sons.  He 
occupied  the  pulpit  in  that  place  until  April,  1845,  when 
he  once  more  came  back  to  Livonia,  continuing  his  minis- 
try to  the  local  society  and  to  the  contiguous  neighbor- 
hoods until  his  death,  which  occurred  September  10, 
1850.^     His  body  rests  in  the  Livonia  cemetery. 

The  position  of  Mr.  Martin  among  the  Indiana  pioneers 
was  unique.  He  was  essentially  an  orator.  Of  slender 
form,  quite  six  feet  in  height,  and  of  fair  complexion,  he 
was  in  youth  a  very  handsome  man  and  was  beautiful  even 
in  age.  He  was  emotional  in  his  nature,  full  of  senti- 
ment and  of  tears.  His  voice  was  both  sweet  and  powerful. 
It  is  not  strange  that  such  gifts  commanded  the  attention  of 
the  populace  upon  the  frontier.  Nor  is  it  surprising  that 
under  the  control  of  a  piety  uncommonly  warm  and  true  he 
was  sometimes,  in  the  pulpit,  and  especially  during  the 
sacramental  seasons  in  the  woods  which  captivated  his 
heart  and  stirred  him  to  the  depths,  in  the  highest  degree 
eloquent.  .   Earlier  academical  advantages,  and  in  later  life 

1  In  these  self-denying  labors  he  spent  his  entire  private  fortune,  received  mainly  from 
his  wife,  and  amounting  to  ten  or  twelve  thousand  dollars. 

2  During  his  ministry  in  Indiana  Mr.  Martin  organized  the  churches  of  Franklin, 
Orleans,  Paoli,  Palestine,  Bono,  Princeton,  West  Salem,  and  Vincennes,  assisting  alsa 
in  the  organization  of  the  First  Church  at  Indianapolis. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  I05 

larger  opportunities  for  reflection,  would  no  doubt  have 
pruned  his  fancy,  but  there  are  abundant  proofs  that  he 
was  accustomed  to  sway  the  mukitudes  at  his  will  by  his 
impassioned  addresses. 

Father  Martin's  face  was  striking — large,  serious,  at  times  sad 
and  stern,  but  usually  genial  in  expression,  often  lighted  up  by  a 
remarkably  tender,  wistful,  and  loving  look,  as  though  secretly 
yearning  for  your  salvation.  ...  In  practical  preaching  or  exhor- 
tations upon  some  of  the  great  doctrines  of  the  cross  and  in  revival 
labors,  he  had  few  superiors  in  his  day.  His  manner  was  grave, 
solemn,  always  earnest  and  often  impassioned,  having  the  "accent 
of  conviction,"  so  transparently  sincere  that  every  one  who  heard 
him  knew  that  he  himself  had  felt  in  his  own  heart  the  power  of 
the  truth.  It  was  while  attending  the  meeting  of  Salem  Presby- 
tery at  Livonia  in  1841  that  one  of  the  brethren  described  to  me  a 
scene  during  the  sessions  of  the  old  Indiana  Synod  at  Vincennes 
in  early  times,  when  Father  Martin  preached  on  Hebrews  xiii. : 
13  :  "Let  us  go  forth,  therefore,  unto  him  without  the  camp  bear- 
ing his  reproach."  His  heart  was  so  full  of  the  theme,  so  vivid 
was  his  conception  of  Jesus  suffering  without  the  gate,  that  he  was 
transported,  and  transported  and  electrified  the  whole  assembly. 
The  Synod  was  melted  to  tears  and  there  was  audible  sobbing  in 
every  part  of  the  house. ^ 

Perhaps  the  prayers,  even  more  than  the  preaching,  of 
Mr.  Martin  will  be  recalled  by  those  who  remember  him, 
as  characteristic  of  the  man.  His  prayer  before  the  sermon 
commonly  consumed  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  ' '  I  have 
timed  him,"  says  one,  "when  his  prayer  lasted  an  hour 
and  five  minutes."  On  another  occasion  a  son  of  Father 
Dickey  measured  a  prayer  that  was  an  hour  and  thirty 
minutes  long. 

He  seemed  like  Paul ;  whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body  he 
could  not  tell.  His  prayers  were  full  of  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of 
Scripture.  Petition,  confession,  thanksgiving,  and  praise,  ex- 
pressed in  the  language  of  the  Bible,  poured  forth  like  water  from 
a  living  spring.    The  Bible  was  at  his  tongue's  end.    And  oh,  what 

1  MS.  letter  of  the  Rev.  William  M.  Cheever,  who  was  a  student  at  Hanover  while 
Mr.  Martin  supplied  the  pulpit  there  in  1834-5. 


Io6  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

unction  there  was  in  his  counsels  and  prayers  by  the  side  of  the 
afflicted  and  the  dying.  Many  a  dear  dying  saint  before  dissolu- 
tion has  seen  the  gates  of  the  City  of  God  opening  to  the  touch  of 
Father  Martin's  prayer. 

At  the  earliest  opportunity,  like  other  Presbyterian  pio- 
neers, he  established  a  school,  with  his  own  means  erecting- 
a  log  house  for  its  accommodation  near  his  dwelling.  His 
own  classical  attainments  enabled  him  to  prepare  for  the 
ministry  and  for  the  other  learned  professions  a  number  of 
young  men  who  became  prominent  in  important  stations. 
The  school  was  long  known  as  "the  Log  College."  In 
this  work  Mr.  Martin  was  greatly  assisted  by  his  wife,  who 
carried  it  on  uninterruptedly  during  his  frequent  and  pro- 
tracted missionary  journeys. 

Of  the  hospitality  which  marked  the  early  times  the  min- 
ister's cabin  near  Livonia  furnished  a  beautiful  illustration. 
There  was  a  tavern  in  the  village,  but  it  was  said  that  the 
Presbyterian  preacher  had  most  of  the  custom.  The  Rev. 
John  Crozier  recalls  an  incident  which  pleasantly  discloses 
the  interior  of  the  manse. 

One  Monday  night,  returning  from  Paoli,  I  stayed  at  Mr.  Martin's. 
He  had  been  in  the  harv^est  field  but  had  come  in  early,  and  like 
Abraham  had  taken  from  the  flock  or  the  herd  and  prepared  with 
his  own  hands  what  soon  became  a  savory  meal.  During  the  eve- 
ning the  family  and  guests  were  gathered  in  the  little  parlor,  busily 
engaged  in  conversation.  In  the  middle  of  the  room  stood  a  small 
square  table  on  which  were  a  Bible,  one  or  two  books  of  reference, 
a  big  bundle  of  sermons,  writing  materials,  and  a  tallow  candle. 
By  this  table  sat  Father  Martin,  with  a  high  leghorn  hat,  worn  to 
shade  his  eyes,  and  amidst  the  hum  of  talk  he  began  his  studies. 
He  was  soon  quite  absorbed  in  thought.  After  an  hour  or  more 
of  silent  meditation,  he  suddenly  threw  up  his  glasses  and  asked 
his  clerical  visitors  whether  they  knew  what  was  the  color  of  the 
Apostle  John's  hair.  One  of  the  gentlemen  had  never  heard  the 
question  suggested  before.  Another  thought  the  New  Testament 
was  non-committal  as  to  the  color  of  anybody's  hair.  The  younger 
people  ventured  to  express  no  opinion  and  the  inquiry  was  soon 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  lO/ 

handed  back  to  the  questioner,  who  at  once  said  that  John's  hair 
must  have  been  black.  He  then  began  roguishly  to  read  a  pas- 
sage he  had  just  found  in  one  of  his  youthful  manuscripts  referring 
to  the  "raven  locks  "  of  the  apostle  now  "  blanched  by  the  frosts 
of  fourscore  winters." 

Mr.  Martin  certainly  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.  His 
three  brothers-in-law  were  the  Revs.  Samuel  R. ,  Thomas, 
and  William  A.  P.  Alexander,  the  latter  for  many  years  a 
successful  missionary  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  His  only 
sons  became  ministers — Samuel  N.  D.,  Dr.  William  A.  P., 
and  Dr.  Claudius  B.  H.  Martin.  The  two  former  went  to 
China,  where  one  still  remains,  the  accomplished  president 
of  the  Imperial  University.  Not  to  be  outdone,  five  out 
of  the  seven  daughters  entrapped  Presbyterian  ministers, 
and  Drs.  Newell,  Venable,  and  Matthews,  and  Messrs. 
Camborn  and  Morton  have  added  their  Levitical  luster  to 
the  family  renown.' 

Isaac  Reed  was  born  in  Granville,  Washington  County, 
N.  Y.,  August  27,  1787.  Therewith  his  parents,  Abra- 
ham and  Thankful  Reed,  his  early  childhood  was  passed. 
He  entered  the  junior  class  in  Middlebury  College,  Ver- 
mont, and  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1812.^  After 
completing  the  college  course  his  plans  were  seriously 
embarrassed,  as  they  had  previously  been,  by  the  delicacy 
of  his  health.  He  attempted  to  teach,  securing  a  position 
in  the  academy  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  but  in  a  few  weeks  was 
compelled  to  rest.  December  28,  18 12,  he  entered  the 
law  office  of  John  C.  Parker,  Esq. ,  at  Granville.  A  second 
time  making  the  attempt  to  endure  the  labor  of  the  school- 

1  It  will  be  seen  that  there  were  attractions  for  guests  at  the  Livonia  parsonage,  and 
Father  Martin  was  fond  of  making  the  young  theologians  who  came  to  his  cabin  go  up 
into  the  pulpit  too.  On  one  occasion  three  of  them,  hiding  in  separate  corners  of  the 
meeting-house,  were  led  to  the  desk,  directed  to  "  make  their  own  arrangements,"  and 
then  abandoned  to  their  fate. 

2  Another  member  of  the  class,  the  Rev.  Stephen  Bliss,  also  became  a  missionary  in 
the  Synod  of  Indiana.     Cf.  "  Life  and  Times  of  Stephen  Bliss,"  p.  90. 


Io8  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

room  he  was  again  compelled  to  desist,  and  resumed  his 
legal  studies  in  the  office  of  Messrs.  Bradish  &  Sedgwick, 
New  York  City.'  With  improving  health,  however,  his 
original  preference  for  the  ministry  as  a  profession  was  con- 
firmed, and  while  again  conducting  a  school  on  Long 
Island  he  began  the  study  of  divinity  under  the  advice  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Woolworth,  of  Bridgehampton.  He  was  taken 
under  the  care  of  Long  Lsland  Presbytery,  but,  removing 
to  Connecticut,  concluded  his  theological  preparations  at 
Norwalk  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Roswell  R.  Swan,^ 
and  received  licensure  at  North  Stamford,  May  29,  1816, 
from  the  Fairfield  Congregational  Association.  At  Nor- 
wich, near  Utica,  N.  Y.,  as  a  missionary  of  the  Oneida 
Female  Missionary  Society,  and  at  Manlius,  N.  Y. ,  his 
labors  were  especially  useful  for  brief  periods.  But  serious 
pulmonary  symptoms  reappeared  and  his  thoughts  were 
turned  toward  the  Southwest.  Mounting  his  horse  he 
traveled  from  Manlius,  over  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  and 
in  four  months  made  a  journey  of  nine  hundred  miles. 
His  first  resting-place  was  in  central  Kentucky.  The 
month  after  his  arrival  he  was  "severely  attacked," 
December,  18 17,  "with  a  bilious  fever,  "^  and  quite  natur- 
ally he  thinks  himself  ' '  greatly  deceived  respecting  the 
climate."  He  was  soon  able,  however,  to  establish  a 
projected  ' '  preaching  circuit ' '  and  early  in  the  February 
following  had  gone  over  it  once.      He  says  : 

It  includes  two  Sabbaths  at  Lancaster,  one  at  Point  Lick,  two  at 
Richmond,  another  at  Point  Lick,  and  the  next  at  Lancaster 
again.  In  these  two  counties  there  are  four  Presbyterian  churches 
but  no  minister  able  to  preach.  I  have  compassion  on  them  and 
have  concluded  to  cast  my  lot  among  them  for  the  winter.* 

The  "lot"   certainly  did  not  prove  to  be  lucrative,  and 

1  Cf.  Reed's  "  Christian  Traveller,"  p.  15. 

2  Cf.  "Christian  Traveller,"'  p.  14. 

3  "  Christian  Traveller,"  p.  42. 

4  "  Christian  Traveller,"  p.  57. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  IO9 

as  the  good  man  had  been  entirely  at  his  own  charges 
since  leaving  New  York  he  was  compelled  after  a  few 
weeks  to  relinquish  the  field.  Near  Lancaster,  March  19, 
1 8 18,  in  the  pious  but  somewhat  unsophisticated  vein 
which  apparently  characterized  him  everywhere,  he  wrote  : 

After  preaching  the  last  Sabbath  I  dined  in  town  and  saw  "a 
large  collection  of  blacks  about  a  grocery,  swearing  and  contend- 
ing ;  and  as  I  came  out  of  town  a  large  number  of  white  boys  and 
some  young  men  were  playing  ball  in  the  seminary  yard.  Oh, 
how  is  my  heart  pained  with  the  immoral  and  impious  ways  of 
people  here.  To  see  such  things  take  place  immediately  after  I 
have  been  preaching,  in  the  most  solemn  manner  of  which  I  am 
capable,  how  discouraging  it  is  ! ' 

Mr.  Reed  now  resumed  his  travels,  preaching  in  Ken- 
tucky wherever  opportunity  was  offered,  until  July  23,  in 
company  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Cleland,  he  crossed 
for  the  first  time  into  Indiana  and  found  a  welcome  at  the 
house  of  Dr.  D.  McClure,  in  Madison.'  Explorations  of 
the  adjacent  country  immediately  began.  At  New  Albany 
he  spent  five  weeks.  ''The  town  was  rude  in  appearance, 
had  few  good  houses,  but  was  fast  improving  and  contained 
seven  hundred  inhabitants.'"  Brought  hither,  as  he 
thinks,  by  providence,  the  naive  and  prayerful  ejaculation 
recorded  in  his  journal  is,  "  O  that  I  maybe  submissive  !" 
Here  overtures  are  made  for  his  settlement,  and  having 
returned  to  Kentucky,  to  be  ordained  by  Transylvania 
Presbytery,  in  Dr.  Cleland' s  New  Providence  meeting- 
house, Saturday,  October  10,  before  the  close  of  the  month 
his  stated  ministry  in  New  Albany  begins. 

1  "Christian  Traveller,"  p.  58. 

2  In  a  MS.  memorandum  Mr.  Reed  makes  the  following  reference  to  the  pioneers 
already  on  the  ground :  "  Six  Presbyterian  ministers,  viz.r  Wm.  Robinson,  very  infirm  ; 
John  Todd,  mild  and  but  little  known  ;  W.  W.  Martin,  active,  eloquent,  and  popular; 
J.  M.  Dickey;  Samuel  T.  Scott;  James  Balch,  an  old  and  blunt  man." 

3  "  Christian  Traveller,"  p.  79.  The  types  here  make  the  figures  seventeen  hundred, 
but  this  seems  to  be  an  error,  as  nine  years  later  (see  p.  222)  the  population  is  estimated 
at  eight'^v\m6x^6.. 


no  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  engagement  was  for  one  year.  The  salary  was  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  Fifteen  members  composed  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Over  most  of  the  town  plat  lay  thickly  the  trunks  of 
trees  which  had  been  felled  but  were  not  removed.  There  was  a 
little  frame  covered  in  for  a  Methodist  meeting-house  ;  the  Presby- 
terians had  none.  But  during  the  year  a  house  of  worship  was 
built.  A  considerable  addition  was  made  to  the  membership. 
And  a  Sabbath  School  of  sixty  members,  the  first  ever  formed  in 
Indiana,  was  gathered.' 

Thus  far  the  missionary  had  no  help  from  abroad,  but  at 
the  close  of  his  labors  at  New  Albany,'  he  obtained  a  com- 
mission from  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society.  Again 
he  became  "the  Christian  traveler,"  preaching  in  Ken- 
tucky and  for  several  weeks  in  Granville,  Ohio.  On 
Christmas  Day,  1819,  in  Danville,  Ky.,  his  hand  "and 
the  hand  of  Elinor  Young  were  joined  in  the  marriage 
covenant,  in  the  presence  of  the  minister,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
K.  Nelson,  the  family  of  Mrs.  (widow)  Young,  an  attend- 
ing young  gentleman  and  two  female  friends."^  He 
preached  two  years  at  Nicholasville  during  that  period,  in 
the  autumn  of  1821  crossing  the  Ohio  once  more  upon  a 
mission  tour  of  about  four  weeks  to  Owen  County  and  the 
frontier  of  Indiana.  Having  completed  a  journey  to  Phila- 
delphia, as  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly,  chiefly 
upon  horseback  and  in  a  "dearborn"  wagon,  he  started 
again,  September  25,  1822,  for  the  region  which  seemed 
to  attract  him  from  all  his  wanderings,  though  here  pov- 
erty and  hardship  and  suffering  united  to  cool  his  ardor 
and  try  his  faith  in  God.  During  the  four  weeks'  excur- 
sion the  year  before  he  had  wisely  made  his  way  with  his 

1  "  Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  86-9. 

2  The  considerable  salary  promised  here  was  not  paid.  The  little  band  had  promised 
far  beyond  their  ability. 

3  "  Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  98,  99.  An  older  sister  of  Mrs.  Reed  became  the  wife  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Baynard  R.  Hall,  another  pioneer  of  our  church  in  Indiana.  See  "  Chris- 
tian Traveller,"  p.  iii.  In  Hall's  "  New  Purchase  "  Reed  figures  as  the  "  Rev.  James 
Hillsbury  "  (see  p.  86). 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  Ill 

brother-in-law,  president  of  the  State  Seminary  at  Bloom- 
ington,  * '  through  the  woods  by  the  forks  of  the  Eel  River, 
to  the  land  oiifice  in  Terre  Haute,  .  .  .  and  entered  a  half 
quarter-section  of  land."  '  Here  he  arrived  in  October, 
1822,^  and  "settled,"  if  a  man  who  was  half  his  time  in 
the  saddle  could  be  said  to  "settle"  anywhere. 

In  explaining  the  motives  of  his  return  to  Indiana  Mr. 
Reed  unconsciously  reveals  his  own  indefatigable  and  un- 
selfish mind  : 

As  none  others  had  given  themselves  up  to  settle  in  those  new 
parts  of  the  state  the  writer  resolved  to  venture  forward  and  lead 
in  this  way.  His  scheme  for  improvement  was  this  :  to  locate 
with  a  little  infant  church  already  formed,  to  instruct  and  encour- 
age them,  to  appropriate  one  half  of  his  ministerial  labors  to  their 
benefit,  and  to  receive  from  them  in  return  as  much  salary  as  they 
should  be  able  to  raise,  paid  in  their  personal  labor  or  in  the 
produce  of  their  farms.  The  balance  of  his  time  he  held  to  be 
devoted  to  missionary  service,  and  his  plan  and  his  practice  were 
to  spend  alternately  one  week  at  home  and  the  next  abroad.  The 
preaching  places  were  distant  from  each  other  and  most  of  them 
distant  from  the  writer's  residence  and  charge.  The  consequence 
was  that  to  be  punctual  in  the  attendance  upon  his  appointments, 
and  to  keep  up  the  hopes  of  the  Presbyterian  people,  subjected 
him  to  a  vast  deal  of  riding.  Respecting  this  plan  and  this  field  of 
action,  before  his  removal  from  Kentucky,  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  a 
student  of  theology  at  Princeton,  "that  it  opened  to  the  view  of 
his  mind  such  a  field  for  Christian  enterprise  and  usefulness  as 
almost  raised  him  above  himself."^ 

But  on  the  "half  quarter-section"  there  was  no 
dwelling. 

I  found  much  difficulty  to  obtain  labor  from  the  people,  they 
being  hurried  with  their  own  work.  As  far  as  my  own  personal 
labor  could  supply  this  deficiency  it  was  supplied.  But  with 
all  my  efforts  the  building  progressed  slowly,  and  to  increase  my 
difficulty  the   winter  closed   in   early.      We    entered    our  house 

1  "  Christian  Traveller,''  p.  121. 

2  "  Christian  Traveller,"  p.  139. 

3  "  Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  138,  139. 


112  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  week  before  Christmas  and  occupied  it  that  winter,  without  a 
loft,  with  no  plastering  between  the  logs,  above  the  joist  plates, 
and  with  a  large  wooden  chimney-place  cut  out  of  the  end  of  the 
house  and  built  up  a  little  above  the  mantel-piece.*  Wood  was 
plenty  and  well  did  it  need  to  be  for  a  situation  like  that.  Yet 
many  were  the  comforts  which  were  mingled  with  those  difficul- 
ties, though  the  trial  sat  heavily  on  my  Elinor.  And  indeed  I 
have  often  wondered  since  that  time  how  I  could  have  ever  had 
resolution  enough  to  have  voluntarily  brought  myself  into  that 
situation.  But  now  necessity  pushed  us  on  and  hope  cheered  us 
with  the  return  of  spring  and  a  better  prospect  in  the  future.  Nor 
do  I  remember  that  I  ever  felt  a  wish  that  I  had  not  ventured 
upon  this  service.  It  always  appeared  to  me  to  be  worthy  of  my 
trials  in  it.^. 

Is  not  this  a  bit  of  real  heroism  ?  Possibly  there  may  be 
too  many  clergymen.  But  there  is  no  danger  that  there 
will  ever  be  too  many  self-forgetting  men,  ready  to  imitate 
such  an  example. 

The  approach  of  summer  must  have  had  a  peculiar  wel- 
come after  such  a  winter  in  such  a  hut.  The  only  creature 
at  the  ' '  Cottage  of  Peace ' '  that  could  have  imagined 
"December  as  pleasant  as  May"  was  the  missionary's 
horse.  He  had  at  least  had  a  rest.  But  with  spring 
came  work  again,  the  usual  interminable  preaching  tours. 
Mr.  Reed  is  now  in  correspondence  with  the  "United 
Domestic  Missionary  Society."  In  August  occurs  his 
installation  as  pastor  of  the  Bethany  church.^  To  this 
society  he  gives  half  his  time  and  during  the  alternate 
weeks  traverses  the  whole  wilderness  around.  The  horse 
is  not  to  be  congratulated  now.  The  mud,  the  forests,  the 
swollen  fords,"  the  widely  scattered  congregations,  make 
the  necessary  labor  severe.     Thus  three  years  go  by.      Mr. 

1  This  is  the  "  Cottage  of  Peace  "  of  Mr.  Reed's  book. 

2  "  Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  139,  140. 

3  "  Christian  Traveller,"  p.  142. 

4  An  amusing  description  of  Mr.  Reed — "  Bishop  Hillsbury" — is  given  by  his  brother- 
in-law  in  the  first  edition  of  "  The  New  Purchase,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  278-83. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  II3 

Reed  organized  more  churches  than  any  other  man.'  He 
is  at  Salem,  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Salem  Presbytery, 
April,  1824.  During  the  year  he  travels  twenty-four  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles. ^  At  "sacramental  meetings,"  licen- 
sures, ordinations,  installations,  he  is  sure  to  be  present,  in 
every  corner  of  the  southern  half  of  the  state.  The  exposure 
and  suffering  implied  we  can  now  scarcely  conceive. 

Meanwhile  the  missionary's  pen  is  busy.  He  sends  com- 
munications to  eastern  newspapers.  He  prints  his  first 
little  book.  He  contributes  to  the  local  press.  "^  Other 
publications  are  issued  under  the  sanction  of  Presbytery. 
A  dedication  sermon  is  published.^  He  diligently  keeps 
the  journal  which  now  constitutes  "The  Christian  Trav- 
eller." The  log  house  in  Owen  County  is  the  center  of  a 
most  tireless  activity.  Every  opened  path  of  usefulness  is 
pursued  to  the  end. 

Until  the  close  of  1825  these  labors  continue.  Mr.  Reed 
is  then  released  from  his  pastoral  charge.  For  two  years 
"  he  had  not  received  a  dollar  in  money  from  his  congre- 
gation." The  claims  of  his  family  required  him  to 
"  depend  on  farming  as  a  business  "  or  seek  another  field. 
He  still  clings  to  the  Indiana  woods.  Possibly  he  may 
move  "  further  up  White  River."  His  journal  describes 
his  tour  in  the  spring  of  1826.*  This  proves  to  be  his  last 
missionary  work  before  leaving  Indiana.  The  conclusion 
he  finally  reaches  is  to  return  with  his  family  to  the  East,^ 

1  See  "A  Ministry  of  Forty  Years  in  Indiana,"  by  the  Rev.  James  H.  Johnston,  p.  5  ; 
"  Quarter-Century  Discourse,"  by  the  Rev.  P.  S.  Cleland,  p.  14. 

2  "Christian  Traveller,"  p.  145. 

3  See  Western  Censor  and  Emigrants''  Guide,  Indianapolis,  June  7,  1824,  and  July 
20,  1824. 

<  "Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  144,  147,  148,  150. 

6  "Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  177-84. 

6  It  is  probable  that  Mrs.  Reed's  judgment  was  not  opposed  to  the  removal  Her 
mother,  Mrs.  Ann  Young,  the  "Mrs.  Glenville"  of  Hall's  "  New  Purchase,"  Chapter 
XXXII.,  had  recently  died  at  the  "Cottage  of  Peace."  In  the  wilderness  there  was  little 
opportunity  for  the  education  of  her  children.  This  latter  consideration  would  have 
great  weight  with  one  whose  ambition  was  as  persevering  as  hers.  It  is  said  that  at  one 
time  hopes  were  entertained  of  a  brilliant  dramatic  career  for  one  of  her  children. 


114  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

a  congregation  at  Moriah,  N.  Y.,  having  desired  him  to 
visit  them.  His  allusion  to  the  early  stages  of  this  journey 
of  a  thousand  miles  strongly  suggests  the  discourage- 
ments with  which  the  missionary  had  been  accustomed  to 
contend. 

It  was  Wednesday,  the  31st  of  May,  when  we  left  Indianapolis 
and  entered  the  woods  in  the  road  to  Centreville.  To  a  traveler 
with  a  wheel  carriage,  in  so  new  a  road  as  this,  through  a  coun- 
try where  the  settlements  are  so  few  and  distant,  some  difficul- 
ties might  be  expected  at  any  season  of  the  year,  but  at  present 
they  were  numerous  and  truly  discouraging.  The  country  is 
moist  and  the  soil  very  rich,  and  the  road  but  partially  cut  out. 
Over  the  small  streams  log  causeways  had  been  made,  but  the 
high  waters  of  the  spring  season  had  raised  them  and  floated  the 
logs  in  every  direction,  so  that  at  these  places  the  cut-out  way  was 
utterly  impassable.  The  resort  was  to  turn  into  the  woods  and 
choose  some  other  place  to  venture  through  the  waters  and  wet 
grounds,  till  we  were  beyond  the  entire  causeway,  or  at  least  the 
raised  part  of  it.  Often  at  these  places,  and  at  others,  from  the 
length  of  the  stretches  of  deep  mud,  had  Mrs.  Reed  to  get  out 
with  the  youngest  child  in  her  arms,  and  the  oldest  walking  with 
her,  and  thus  to  make  her  way  on  foot,  while  I  had  to  lead  the 
horse  by  the  check-rein,  walking  before  him,  and  frequently  with 
the  mud  and  water  deeper  than  my  boots.  In  many  places  it 
appeared  extremely  doubtful  when  the  horse  went  in  whether  he 
would  ever  be  able  to  come  out.  Thus  we  traveled  for  three 
days,  in  one  of  which,  starting  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and  traveling  with  the  utmost  diligence  till  sunset,  we  made  only 
thirteen  miles.     And  this  was  the  second  day  of  June.' 

The  travelers  safely  reached  their  destination,  however, 
and  Mr.  Reed  made  an  engagement  for  five  years  with  the 
Moriah  congregation.  His  letters  in  the  New  York 
Observer  show  his  continued  attachment  to  the  scene  of  his 
former  toil,  whither  he  was  soon  to  return.  After  a  single 
year  the  Moriah  engagement  was  terminated,  and  he 
looked  westward  once  more,  coming,  in  1828,  to  Bloom- 
ington,    where    his    brother-in-law,    Professor    Hall,    still 

1  "Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  ixx,  ^x^. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  115 

resided.  This  place  "the  wanderer,"  as  he  styled  himself, 
made  the  center  of  the  usual  missionary  labor  for  a  number 
of  years.  He  left  Bloomington  in  the  fall  of  1835  and 
transferred  his  family  to  South  Hanover,  having  himself 
accepted  an  agency  for  the  college.  A  little  later  he  was 
conducting  a  school  in  Kentucky,  near  Shelbyville.  He  is 
then  successively  at  various  points  in  Indiana,  Kentucky, 
Ohio,  and  Illinois,  until  in  the  spring  of  1854  he  removed 
to  Waterloo,  N.  Y.,  and  immediately  after  to  Auburn. 
During  all  these  latter  years,  aided  by  his  wife,  he  had 
joined  the  work  of  teaching  to  that  of  a  missionary.  A 
severe  winter  now  seriously  threatened  his  health,  and  he 
came  West  again  to  Olney,  111.  Here  his  family  remained 
while  he  moved  on  to  Missouri.  Connecting  himself  with 
the  Presbytery  there,  he  was  assigned  to  a  mission  field  at 
Versailles  ;  but  returning  to  his  family  at  Olney  he  suffered 
a  severe  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  and  imprudently  at- 
tempting to  fulfil  an  engagement  to  preach,  was  attacked 
with  typhoid  pneumonia,  and  after  a  brief  struggle  died 
Thursday  night,  January  14,  1858.  A  plain  marble  slab 
marks  his  resting-place  in  the  Olney  cemetery,  and  bears 
the  inscription,  "The  wanderer  here  finds  rest."  His 
widow  survived  until  May  9,  1869,  when  she  fell  asleep  at 
the  residence  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Williams,  near  Put- 
namville,   Ind. 

In  person  Mr.  Reed  was  tall  and  spare,  with  dark  hair 
and  blue  eyes.  He  enjoyed  society.  "I  am  a  great 
talker,"    said   one  who  knew   him   well,'  "and  he  talked 

1  Dr.  Henry  Little.  It  was  in  the  winter  of  1830,  when  Dr.  Little  was  making  his  first 
journey  through  the  state,  that  a  characteristic  incident  occurred.  Says  Dr.  Little  : 
"  Finding  Mr.  Reed  at  Bloomington,  he  told  me  that  he  was  to  go  to  Bedford,  to  marry 
a  couple,  the  next  day,  and  that  I  must  go  with  him.  At  five  o'clock  on  a  December 
morning  we  breakfasted  and  were  off.  At  an  Indian  wigwam  we  halted  and  talked 
a  while.  Father  Reed,  having  long  yams  to  tell,  lost  his  saddle-bags  afterward,  and 
had  to  go  back  two  miles  to  find  them.  Just  at  sunset,  having  traveled  twenty-eight 
miles  in  all,  we  reached  Bedford  and  went  to  the  double  log  cabin  where  the  preacher 
was  expected.  It  was  full  of  company.  The  family  was  from  New  Jersey.  At  seven 
o'clock  the  wedding  came  off  and  we  sat  down  to  supper.     Everything  was  nice  and  in 


Il6  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

two  thirds  more  than  I."  He  was  perhaps  lacking  in 
shrewdness.  For  practical  affairs  he  had  little  aptitude. 
Sometimes  human  nature  surprised  and  baffled  him.  In 
social  meetings  he  would  often  speak  wonderfully  well, 
though  his  ordinary  preaching  was  not  especially  attract- 
ive. He  stooped  and  leaned  in  the  pulpit,  the  thumb 
of  his  right  hand  hooked  under  his  waistcoat  at  the 
suspender  button.  But  ' '  he  had  as  little  selfishness  as 
any  of  the  unselfish  men  about  him — would  do  anything 
for  the  Master's  sake."  "  He  was  laborious,  persevering, 
patient,  pure-minded,  affectionate,  and  simple  in  his  tastes 
and  public  ministrations. " '  "  He  performed  prodigies  of 
labor  as  an  itinerant. ' '  ^  His  Hfe  was  one  of  ' '  arduous  and 
unrequited  toil."  '^  His  monument  he  reared  while  laying 
the  foundations  of  the  church  in  the  wilderness.  It  was  in 
this  early  period,  before  his  almost  aimless  "wandering" 
began,  that  his  usefulness  was  most  assured. 

Orin  Fowler  was  another  of  the  quartet  of  missionaries 
reaching  Indiana  in  1818.  The  eldest  son  and  sixth  child  of 
Captain  Amos^  and  Rebecca  (Dewey)  Fowler,  he  was  born  at 
Lebanon,  Conn.,  July  29,  1791.  In  boyhood  he  worked  on 
his  father's  farm,  though  when  sixteen  and  seventeen  years 
of  age  he  was  for  two  winters  engaged  in  teaching  school, 
the  inevitable  resource  of  young  New  Englanders.  He  fitted 
for  college  under  the  instruction  of  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Ripley,  and  entered  Williams  College  in  the  autumn  of 
1811.      At  the  end  of  the  first  term  he  took  his  dismission, 

abundance.  But  after  I  had  got  one  little  biscuit,  the  embarrassed  bride  and  groom 
shoved  back  their  chairs ;  others,  equally  confused,  followed  their  example  ;  no  sugges- 
tion of  our  emptiness  came  from  unworldly  Father  Reed,  and  I  was  too  much  a 
stranger  to  protest ;  so  the  groaning  table  was  almost  untouched,  and  I  had  to  go  to  bed 
hungry  as  a  bear.     Next  morning,  however,  I  made  up  for  lost  time." 

1  MS.  of  the  Rev.  Ransom  Hawley. 

2  "  Life  and  Times  of  Stephen  Bliss,"  p.  90. 

3  "  Quarter-Century  Discourse,"  by  the  Rev.  P.  S.  Cleland,  p.  14. 

4  A  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  IIJ 

and  after  studying  again  for  a  while  under  Mr.  Ripley's 
direction,  and  also  for  one  term  at  the  academy  at  Col- 
chester, he  entered  the  sophomore  class  at  Yale  College  in 
October,  1812.  Here  he  maintained  an  excellent  stand- 
ing, being  distinguished  in  the  more  solid  and  practical 
courses  of  study.'  A  few  months  previous  to  his  grad- 
uation he  accepted  the  preceptorship  of  the  academy 
at  Fairfield,  Conn.,  and  held  the  place,  discharging  its 
duties  with  great  fidelity  and  acceptance,  until  the  autumn 
of  1 816.  He  then  presented  his  resignation  in  order  to 
devote  himself  more  exclusively  to  theological  studies.  Dr. 
Humphrey,  then  minister  of  Fairfield,  afterward  president 
of  Amherst  College,  becoming  his  instructor.  He  was 
licensed  to  preach  on  the  14th  of  October,  181 7,  by  the 
Association  of  the  Western  District  of  Fairfield  County. 

Having  preached  occasionally  in  different  places,  chiefly 
in  Fairfield  County,  but  without  any  reference  to  settle- 
ment, he  decided  March,  1818,  to  attempt  a  missionary 
tour  in  the  West.  With  this  in  view  he  was  ordained  at 
Farmington,  at  a  meeting  of  the  North  Association  of 
Hartford  County,  on  the  3d  of  June  following,  and  on  the 
same  day  rode  twenty-one  miles  toward  his  field.  ^ 

For  the  proposed  service  Mr.  Fowler  was  admirably  fit- 
ted. A  sound  judgment,  a  tenacious  will,  system,  industry, 
and  uncommon  bodily  vigor  would  all  be  requisite,  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  these  were  among  the  striking  features  of 
his  character.  "He  had  rather  a  large  frame,"  says  his 
college  classmate,  Dr.  Sprague,  ' '  indicating  what  he  really 
possessed,  a  vigorous  constitution."^  Dr.  Shepherd,  his 
friend  and  neighbor,  declares  that  he  seldom  if  ever  knew 
a   pastor    ' '  who    could    perform    unremittingly    such    an 

1  Among  his  classmates  at  Yale  were  the  Rev.  Drs.  Sprague  and  Nevins,  and  Judge 
Jessup  of  Pennsylvania. 

2  Thus  far  I   have  followed  the  statements  in  Sprague,  originally  furnished  by  Mrs. 
Fowler,  and  after  her  husband's  death  reprinted  in  his  "  History  of  Fall  River.'" 

a  "  Annals,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  650. 


Il8  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

amount  of  labor."  '  Young  Fowler  was  just  the  man  to 
ride  into  the  woods  alone  and  lay  the  foundations  of' 
Christian  society  there.  Throughout  his  journey  he  care- 
fully kept  a  diary,  precise  and  practical  in  every  page.^ 
The  faded  manuscript  has  been  recovered.  A  few  extracts 
will  best  reproduce  the  early  days,  at  the  same  time  that 
they  fittingly  unfold  Mr.  Fowler's  character. 

U^ednesday,  June  jd,  1818.  Left  Farmington  and  rode  twenty- 
one  miles  to  Barkhamsted. 

Sabbath.  Preached  twice  at  Canajoharie  to  an  attentive  audi-' 
ence  in  the  Baptist  house.  ) 

Sabbath,  June  14th.  Spent  the  day  at  Seneca  Falls  with  Mr. 
Stark  and  preached  twice  from  Isaiah  55th,  6th,  and  Isaiah  5th, 
4th. 2  Received  from  individuals  two  dollars  for  the  missionary 
society. 

Tuesday.  Rode  to  Murray,  thirty-nine  miles,  an  unpleasant 
country.  Passed  the  growing  village  of  Rochester,  and  had  an 
opportunity  to  converse  with  one  young  person. 

Wednesday.  Rode  forty-four  miles  to  Cambria.  Saw  several 
deer. 

Thursday.  Rode  forty  miles  to  Black  Rock  in  Buffalo.  Passed 
Queenstown  and  Chippewa  battle-ground  and  saw  the  soldiers' 
bones. 

Friday.  Rode  on  the  border  of  Lake  Erie  to  Hamburg,, 
twenty-two  miles.     Passed  village  of  Buffalo,  a  lonely  way. 

Saturday.  Rode  to  Portland,  thirty-eight  miles.  Passed  the 
awful  four-miles  woods.  ' 

Tuesday,  June  30th.  Rode  to  Plain,  thirty-five  miles.  Passed 
Wooster,  a  pleasant  county-seat.  Very  poor  country.  Providen- 
tially lodged  with  a  Presbyterian  family  who  gave  me  my  fare,  and 
with  them  I  attended  family  duties. 

Thursday.  Rode  thirty-four  miles  to  Harrison,  through  an 
awfully  muddy  country,  and  woods  the  most  of  the  way.  Was 
met  near  the  middle  of  an  eight-miles  wood  in  a  terrible  thunder 
storm.     But  the  Lord  preserved  me. 

Sabbath,  July  12th.     Preached  in  Oxford. 

1  "Annals,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  651. 

2  The  MS.  of  the  latter  discourse  is  before  me,  its  first  page  covered  with  memoranda 
of  dates  and  localities,  indicating  its  frequent  extemporaneous  repetition  upon  this  jour- 
ney and  especially  in  Indiana.     It  seems  to  have  been  his  first  written  sermon. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  1 19 

Monday.  Rode  through  Brookville  in  Indiana  to  a  town  on 
Whitewater,  twenty-six  miles. 

Friday.  Passed  through  Vevay,  where  wine  is  made  by  the 
Swiss,  twenty-five  miles  to  a  place  on  the  mountains  near  Madi- 
son. Was  overtaken  by  hard  rain  and  stopped  at  a  very  misera- 
ble hut.  Oh,  how  many  poor  creatures  have  I  seen.  How  many 
destitute  of  this  world's  goods  and  perishing  for  lack  of  vision. 
Was  lost  in  the  wood,  but  providentially  found  the  way  to  a  Con- 
necticut family,  where  by  lying  on  the  floor  I  lodged  comfortably. 

Sabbath.  Preached  (in  Madison)  to  a  crowded  and  solemn 
audience. 

Monday.  Rode  to  the  skirt  of  the  town  and  preached.  Re- 
ceived one  dollar  from  Judge  Dunn  and  Elder  Simington. 

Saturday,  August  ist.  Rode  five  miles  to  Paoli  and  had  oppor- 
tunity to  hear  preaching  by  Mr.  Martin. 

Tuesday.  Rode  fourteen  miles  to  Salem  and  preached. 
Lodged  with  brother  Martin,  an  excellent  man.^ 

Thursday.  Rode  fifteen  miles  to  Brownstown.  Visited  the 
school  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Kenshaw.  Held  a  long  conversation 
with  two  drunkards.  One  confessed  that  he  was  miserable,  that 
he  had  the  horrors.  The  youth  cried  when  he  asked  if  he  could 
yet  be  saved. 

Monday,  August  loth.  Visited  a  school.  Found  the  instructor 
sitting  with  an  ox  goad  in  his  hand,  so  large  that  he  could  reach 
every  scholar. 

Tuesday.  Rode  thirty-four  miles  to  Lexington,  eighteen  of 
them  through  the  woods.  Called  at  one  house  and  saw  a  woman 
rocking  her  infant  in  a  little  log,  shaped  like  a  pig-trough. 

Thursday.  Rode  ten  miles  to  Judge  Dunn's  and  found  brother 
Reed  of  Connecticut,  who  preached  toward  evening.* 

Friday.  Visited  the  school  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Maxwell, 
which  is  large  and  interesting. 

Saturday.  Visited  the  school  under  the  care  of  Mr.  McKey. 
Found  them  accurate  in  the  catechism  as  far  as  they  had  gone. 

Sabbath.     Preached  in  Judge  Dunn's  barn. 

1  It  will  be  found  that  the  journal  is  very  sparing  in  epithets.  This  "  excellent"  is  a 
rarity,  as  Father  Martin  was. 

2  "  I  felt  happy  to-day  in  meeting  at  W.  Dunn's,  Esq.,  the  Rev.  O.  Fowler,  mission- 
ary from  Connecticut.  We  had  been  acquainted  there  when  students  of  divinity  and 
were  licensed  by  the  same  association.  .  .  .  I  preached  and  he  prayed  after  sermon. 
In  prayer  he  was  able,  devout,  and  solemn.  .  .  .  O  that  many  like  him  may  be  sent 
into  the  harvest  in  these  parts."— Reed's  "  Christian  Traveller,"  p.  75.  See  also  pp. 
96,  97,  tii. 


I20  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Thursday,  August  28th.  Rode  to  Mr.  McCartney's,  where  I 
preached.  Baptized  his  children,  eight  in  number.  The  names  of 
James  and  Jane  McCartney's  children,  this  day  baptized,  are 
Polly,  Margaret  (Peggy),  Sally,  Martha,  John,  James,  William, 
Jane,  and  Miriam  Dunn.^  From  there  I  rode  five  miles  to  Captain 
Graham's.  Passed  the  village  of  Mount  Pleasant,  which  consists 
of  one  log  house  about  fifteen  feet  square,  and  one  other  log 
building  about  half  raised,  with  about  half  an  acre  of  partially 
cleared  ground.  There  is  a  sugar  camp  between  the  village  and 
Captain  Graham's. 

Friday,  September  i8th.  Rode  thirty-four  miles  to  Judge 
McGee's,  Velona.  Went  till  four  o'clock  without  food  or  drink, 
and  saw  but  one  house  for  a  distance  of  twenty-two  miles.  Had 
much  trouble  on  account  of  high  water.  Lost  my  horse  in  the 
woods,  but  found  him  again  after  traveling  about  three  miles 
through  the  mud.  How  great  are  my  fatigues  and  trials,  but  the 
Lord  delivers  me  at  all  times.     One  family  visit. 

Sabbath,  September  20th.  Administered  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  to  the  Brownstown  church,  there  being  only  four 
communicants.  It  was  the  first  sacrament  ever  administered  in 
Brownstown  and  the  first  Presbyterian  sacrament  ever  held  in 
Jackson  County. 

Tuesday.  Rode  twenty  miles  by  Brother  Martin's  and  Salem  to 
Livonia,  a  village  consisting  of  about  twenty  log  cabins.  There  is 
not  a  shingled  roof  in  the  place. 

Sabbath,  September  27th.  Assisted  in  organizing  the  Concord 
church,-  which  consists  of  eleven  members  :  Mr.  James  Fulton 
and  his  wife  Catharine,  Mr.  John  Magner  and  his  wife  Sally,  Mr. 
James  Donnell  and  his  wife  Elizabeth,  Mrs.  Nancy  Fisher  and  her 
son  Telek  and  daughter  Celia,  Mr.  Moses  Mather  and  his  wife 
Caty.  Then  administered  the  sacrament  of  the  Supper  in  connec- 
tion with  brother  Martin,  and  preached.  Rode  three  miles  to  Mr. 
John  Magner's.  This  is  Orange  County.  The  first  Presbyterian 
communion  in  the  county. 

Friday,  October  gth.  Sat  with  Presbytery  at  Charlestown  and 
preached  in  the  evening. 

Friday,  October  i6th.  Rode  five  miles  to  Mr.  Bergen's  and 
preached  to  an  interesting  congregation.     After  preaching  pro- 

1  The  missionary's  record  is  equally  explicit  on  each  similar  occasion.  The  names, 
and  frequently  the  nicknames,  are  religiously  preserved. 

2  This  church  Dickeys  "  History  "  does  not  mention.  It  was  afterward  merged  in  the 
neighboring  churches  of  (Jrleans  and  Paoli. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  121 

ceeded  to  form  a  church.  Commenced  with  prayer  ;  then  read 
the  certificates  of  such  as  had  them  and  heard  the  relation  of 
others  and  questioned  them  on  doctrines  as  well  as  on  experience. 
Led  the  brethren  to  the  choice  of  three  elders,  and  it  appeared 
that  Christopher  Bergen,  Samuel  Ryker,  and  Jeduthan  Dodd  were 
elected.  Postponed  further  consideration  till  to-morrow  morning 
at  lo  o'clock. 

Saturday.  Met  and  held  further  consultation  and  appointed 
a  clerk.  At  12  preached  to  a  large,  solemn  congregation.  After 
preaching  proceeded  to  read  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  install 
the  elders,  they  having  been  ordained.  The  members  of  the 
church  ^  are  fourteen  in  number  and  their  names  are  as  follows  : 
Christopher  Bergen  and  his  wife  Anna,  Samuel  Ryker  and  his 
wife  Barbara,  Jeduthan  Dodd,  John  L.  McCoskey,  Peter  Ryker  and 
his  wife  Susannah,  John  Ryker  and  his  wife  Nancy,  Theodorus 
Vanosdol,  Peter  Vancleve,  Rachel  Vanosdol,  Rachel  Weatherford. 
Afterward  met  with  session  and  admitted  Mary  Benepiel  and 
Hannah  Hamilton  by  profession.  .  .  .  Twenty-five  per- 
sons are  now  in  this  room  around  me,  all  to  tarry  through  the 
night. 

Sabbath.  Administered  the  sacrament  to  the  church  yesterday 
constituted,  there  being  nearly  forty  communicants  present. 
While  administering  the  ordinance  one  young  man,  G.  B.,  was 
so  struck  with  the  expression,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me,"  that  he  was  pressed  down,  and  kept  his 
bed  till  night.  Many  were  much  affected  and  after  the  meeting 
was  over  two  other  young  persons  were  so  powerfully  impressed 
that  they  could  not  refrain  from  crying  out,  "What  shall  I  do?" 
While  at  supper  an  aged  sinner  of  sixty-six,  and  directly  after 
another  of  seventy-four  cried  out,  "We  are  undone,  we  are 
lost." 

Saturday,  October  24th.  Preached  to  a  large  congregation  at 
New  Lexington,  and  then  proceeded  to  form  a  church.  Received 
and  read  the  letters  of  such  as  had  them  and  heard  the  relation  of 
others.  Alexander  McNutt,  William  Wilson,  and  Solomon  Davis 
were  elected  elders.  One  young  lady  who  had  been  a  Baptist 
wished  to  join  us,  having  given  up  her  Baptist  sentiments,  and 
accordingly  she  was  received. 

Sabbath.  Met  with  the  brethren  and  sisters  for  further  consulta- 
tion, and  at  11  o'clock  proceeded  to  the  place  of  preaching, 
delivered  a  sermon  to  a  very  large,  solemn  congregation  and  then 

1  Jefferson  church.     Cf.  Dickey's  "  History,"  p.  7. 


122  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

proceeded  to  constitute  the  church  J  Read  the  Confession  of  Faith 
and  covenant,  declared  them  a  church,  and  consecrated  them 
to  the  Lord  by  prayer.  Then  proceeded  to  ordain  the  elders,  and 
charge  them  and  the  congregation.  Afterward  baptized  eight 
children.  .  .  .  The  members  of  the  church  are  twenty  in 
number  and  their  names  are  as  follows  :  Alexander  McNutt  and 
his  wife  Margaret,  William  Wilson  and  his  wife  Margaret, 
Solomon  Davis  and  his  wife  Mary,  Jacob  Hollenback  and  his 
wife  Elenor,  William  Bowles  and  his  wife  Jane,  David  Walker  and 
his  wife  Jane,  Frederick  Sipes,  Robert  Woodburn,  Margaret  Pat- 
terson, Mary  Robinson,  Susannah  Arbuckle,  Fanny  Terril,  Nancy 
Roe,  and  Mary  Davis. 

Sabbath,  November  i^th.  Rode  three  miles  to  Mr.  Magner's  in 
the  evening.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shields,  with  thirteen  children,  were 
at  meeting  last  night. 

Thursday.  Rode  nine  miles  through  Vincennes  to  Judge 
McClure's,  and  preached  to  an  attentive  audience.  V.  is  built 
upon  the  bank  of  the  Wabash.  Its  local  situation  is  beautiful,  but 
its  appearance  is  very  mean.  But  few  of  the  buildings  are  well 
made  and  many  of  them  are  erected  with  mud  walls. 

Monday,  November  30th.  Continued  at  Vincennes.  Attended 
the  funeral  of  Mr.  Emanuel  L.  Dubois,  and  delivered  an  address. 
Spent  the  most  of  the  day  with  brethren  Derrow,  Tenney,  and 
Robinson,  all  of  them  being  missionaries.  Heard  brother  Robin- 
son preach  in  the  evening  from  John  v. :  45. 

U'ednesday,  December  9.  Rode  thirty-nine  miles  to  Smith's 
Ferry  on  White  River  ;  thirty  miles  of  the  way  without  a  single 
house.     Saw  about  twenty  deer,  and  many  buck  and  elk  horns. 

Thursday.  Rode  thirty  miles  alone  to  Judge  Ketcham's  on 
Clear  Creek  ;  twenty  miles  without  a  house.  Alas,  how  great  my 
fatigues.  For  five  nights  I  have  lodged  on  the  floor,  and  for  two 
days  have  found  but  very  little  to  eat.  But  the  Lord  has 
supported  me. 

Saturday.  Preached  at  Bloomington,- from  Psalms  cxix.:  165. 
Received  from  George  Anderson,  a  Methodist  preacher,  half  a 
dollar  for  the  missionary  society. 

Tuesday.  Rode  twenty-five  miles  to  Mr.  Steele's,  on  Steele's 
Prairie.  Was  very  glad  to  get  where  there  are  some  of  the 
comforts  of  life  again. 

1  Cf.  Dickey's  "  History,"  p.  7. 

2 Probably  the  first  Presbyterian  sermon  in  the  place.  Cf.  Moore's  "History  of 
Indianapolis  Presbytery,"  p.  3. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  1 23 

Sabbath,  Dec.  27th.  Preached  a  funeral  sermon  on  the  death  of 
Sally  Ann  Scott.' 

Sabbath,  Jan.  jo,  1819.  Preached  twice  to  very  large  and  solemn 
audiences  ;  first,  to  Father  Balch's  people,  and  baptized  Amelia 
Witherspoon,  daughter  of  John  and  Letitia  White,  members  of  Mr. 
Balch's  church. 

Sabbath,  Jan.  17th.  Preached  at  the  court-house  in  Vincennes. 
Alas,  how  great  is  the  wickedness  of  this  place.  Every  species  of 
wickedness  is  committed  on  the  Lord's  day,  this  day  being  devoted 
to  it.     May  the  good  Lord  have  mercy  and  not  destroy  the  city. 

Friday,  Jan.  29th.  I  have  a  new  trouble.  My  horse  is  very 
lame  and  I  fear  I  must  leave  him,  but  I  will  trust  in  the  Lord. 

Sabbath,  Jan.  31st.  Preached  at  Mr.  Hall's  to  a  very  large  and 
solemn  congregation.  After  preaching  proceeded  to  constitute  a 
Presbyterian  church,  having  previously  made  the  necessary 
arrangements  and  examinations,  when  nine  persons  came  forward 
and  were  constituted  a  church  of  Christ  (the  Carlisle  church). 
Their  names  are  as  follows  :  William  McCrary  and  his  wife  Mary  ; 
James  Watson;  Rachel  Porter;  Mary  Gould;  Lydia  Silliman ; 
Anna  Brody  ;  Mary  Wasson  ;  Martha  Wasson.  Mr.  McCrary  was 
chosen  to  the  eldership  and  ordained. 

Monday,  Feb.  8th.  The  citizens  of  this  place  (Vincennes)  have 
this  day  presented  me  with  one  hundred  and  one  dollars  for  my 
personal  benefit ;  and  learning  that  my  horse  had  failed  generously 
purchased  me  another,  for  which  they  paid  eighty  dollars.  May 
the  Lord  reward  them  for  their  kindness,  and  may  I  have  grace 
and  gratitude  according  to  my  day. 

Sabbath,  Feb.  14th.  The  season  is  very  mild  and  I  have  this 
day  had  greens  with  dinner. 

Wednesday,  Feb.  24th.  Rode  four  miles  to  Louisville,  found 
brother  Rodgers,  a  missionary  from  New  York.  Attended  a 
prayer  meeting  with  him,  brother  Reed,  and  brother  Banks. 

Thursday.  Rode  to  Charlestown.  Found  brother  Todd  and 
family  well. 

1  Here  the  journal  is  interrupted  by  a  list  of  "  missionary  stopping  places  "—a  sort  of 
roll  of  honor.  Livonia  :  Alex.,  James,  and  Elder  McKinney  ;  Orange  County  :  David 
Findley  and  Mr.  Fisher;  Camp  Creek:  Elders  Walker,  Rodgers,  and  Henderson; 
Bethlehem:  Mr.  Armstrong;  Washington:  John  Allen  and  Mr.  Thompson ;  Km- 
cennes :  Drs.  Hale  and  Wood  ;  Carlisle :  Capt.  Wasson  ;  Princeton :  Mr.  Brown,  In- 
keeper,and  Esq.  Goodlet ;  Clear  Creek:  Judge  Ketcham;  Bloomington  :  Wm.  Harden, 
Esq.,  postmaster;  8  Miles  West:  Judge  Berry;  and  iV.  J^T.,  Mr.  Kirkum ;  Steele's 
Prairie:  Mr.  Steele;  Between  Vincennes  attd  Carlisle:  Judge  McClure,  Mr.  Ockle- 
tree,  and  Mr.  Watson. 


124  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIAXISM. 

Friday,  March  i8,  1819.  Left  Madison  and  crossed  the  river. 
It  was  indeed  trying  to  part  with  my  good  friends  in  Indiana. 
They  have  manifested  much  affection  for  me.  May  the  Lord 
crown  their  years  with  loving  kindness,  and  if  I  may  meet  them  no 
more  here  gront  that  I  may  meet  them  in  his  kingdom. 

From  these  scattered  extracts  it  is  evident  how  pains- 
taking and  thorough  and  successful  were  Mr.  Fowler's 
labors  in  Indiana.'  Entering  the  state  July  13,  1818,  and 
leaving  it  March  18  of  the  following  year,  his  fine  health 
had  been  ta.xed  to  the  utmost,  his  assiduity  had  entirely 
broken  dow^n  a  valuable  saddle-horse,  he  had  organized 
three  churches,  through  the  southern  section  of  the  state 
he  had  everywhere  scattered  seeds  of  truth,  large  tracts  of 
country  like  that  about  Vincennes  he  had  traversed  again 
and  again,  and  it  is  easy  still  to  discover  the  lasting  influ- 
ence of  his  discreet  zeal. 

Turning  homewards  he  passed  through  Kentucky,  Vir- 
ginia, Maryland,  and  Delaware,  and  reached  New  York 
May  13,  in  time  for  the  spring  anniversaries,  which  then 
formed  a  prominent  feature  of  religious  life  in  the  Eastern 
States.  He  soon  sought  a  settlement,  and  was  installed 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at  Plainfield,  Conn., 
March  i,  1820,  having  previously  for  several  months 
supplied  its  pulpit.  After  eleven  years'  labor  there  he 
removed  to  Fall  River,  Mass.,  where  he  was  installed 
July  7,  1831. 

In  the  year  1841  Mr.  Fowler  delivered  three  discourses  contain- 
ing an  historical  sketch  of  Fall  River  from  1620  to  that  time.  In 
this  sketch  he  referred  to  the  boundary'  line  between  Massachu- 
setts and  Rhode  Island,  that  had  been  in  dispute  for  about  a  cen- 
tury. Not  long  after,  at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Fall  River  on 
the  subject  of  the  boundary,  Mr.  Fowler,  without  his  consent  or 
even  knowledge,  was  placed  upon  a  committee  to  defend  the 
interests  of  the  town  before  commissioners  appointed  by  the  two 

1  He  was,  however,  unable  to  sing,  and  found  himself  on  that  account  often  embar- 
rassed. Nor  could  he  become  accustomed  to  the  rude  frontier  life.  It  will  be  seen  from 
his  diary  how  it  cheered  him  to  meet  anybody    '  from  Connecticut." 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  1 25 

States.  This  service  he  promptly  and  ably  performed  ;  but  the 
commissioners  came  to  a  decision  in  which  the  people  of  Fall 
River  were  little  disposed  to  acquiesce  ;  and  they  resolved  upon  an 
effort  to  prevent  the  establishment  by  the  Massachusetts  legisla- 
ture of  the  line  fixed  upon  by  the  commissioners.  Mr.  Fowler 
now  published  a  series  of  papers  in  the  Boston  Atlas  designed  to 
present  before  the  public  mind  the  historical  facts  sustaining  the 
claims  of  Massachusetts,  but  even  his  most  intimate  friends  did 
not  know  that  he  was  the  author  of  them.  When  the  authorship 
was  ascertained  there  was  a  general  voice  in  favor  of  his  being 
chosen  to  the  Senate  of  the  commonwealth,  at  the  next  session  of 
the  legislature.  He  was  accordingly  elected  in  the  autumn  of 
1847,  and  the  Senate,  chiefly,  it  is  said,  through  his  influence, 
rejected  the  report  of  the  commissioners  by  a  unanimous  vote. 
Such  was  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  now  held  as  a  legislator 
that  in  the  autumn  of  1848,  before  his  senatorial  term  had  expired, 
the  people  of  his  district  elected  him  to  the  Thirty-first  Congress. 
Here  his  influence  was  extensively  and  benignly  felt  and  his  advo- 
cacy of  the  cheap  postage  bill  particularly  is  said  to  have  been 
highly  effective. 

Mr.  Fowler,  during  the  time  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Senate,  supplied  his  own  pulpit,  either  in  person  or  by 
proxy,  and  continued  to  perform  his  pastoral  duties  until  the  last 
of  November,  1849,  when  he  left  Fall  River  to  take  his  seat  in 
Congress.  Agreeably  to  a  previous  understanding,  he  was  dis- 
missed from  his  pastoral  charge  by  the  same  council  that  installed 
his  successor,  in  the  spring  of  1850.  During  his  connection  with 
Congress  he  often  supplied  the  pulpits  in  Washington  and  the 
vicinity  and  preached  for  the  last  time  in  the  autumn  of  185 1. 

On  the  night  of  the  27th  of  August,  1852,  he  had  a  slight  attack 
of  illness,  but  the  next  day  was  able  to  be  in  his  seat  in  Congress 
as  usual.  A  day  or  two  after  the  attack  was  repeated,  but  relief 
was  again  obtained  after  a  few  hours.  It  was  soon  found,  how- 
ever, that  his  disease,  so  far  from  being  dislodged  from  his  sys- 
tem, was  taking  on  an  alarming  form,  and  that  his  system  was 
rapidly  sinking  under  it.  After  he  became  convinced  that  his 
recovery  was  hopeless  he  requested  to  be  left  alone  with  his  wife, 
when  he  offered  a  comprehensive  and  affecting  prayer,  without 
wandering  or  repetition,  and  mentioning  especially  both  the 
churches  of  which  he  had  been  pastor.  After  this  he  began  to 
speak  of  his  spiritual  state,  and  said:  '*I  have  tried  to  live  in 
peace  with  God  and  man"  ;  but  the  difficulty  of  respiration  did 


126  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

not  allow  him  to  proceed.  He  languished  until  the  3d  of  Septem- 
ber, and  then  gently  fell  into  his  last  slumber.  His  remains  were 
taken  for  burial  to  Fall  River,  and  were  received  by  his  former 
charge  as  well  as  his  fellow-citizens  generally  with  every  testi- 
mony of  consideration  and  respect.  His  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  by  his  successor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Relyea.' 

The  eulogy  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  delivered 
December  8,  1852,  by  his  colleague,  the  Hon.  Zeno 
Scudder. 

Mr.  Fowler  was  married  October  16,  1821,  to  Amaryl- 
lis, fourth  daughter  of  John  How  Payson,  of  Pomfret, 
Conn.,  and  niece  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Payson,  of  Portland, 
Me.  They  adopted  two  children,  Mrs.  President  S.  C. 
Bartlett,  of  Dartmouth,  and  her  brother,  Mr.  Learned,  of 
Chicago. 

Besides  various  speeches  in  Congress  and  contributions 
to  periodicals  and  newspapers,  Mr.  Fowler  published  a  ser- 
mon at  the  ordination  of  Israel  G.  P.ose,  at  Canterbury, 
1825  ;  "Short  Practical  Essays  on  the  Sabbath"  (anony- 
mously), 1826;  a  "Disquisition  on  the  Evils  Attending 
the  Use  of  Tobacco,"  1833  ;  "  Lectures  on  the  Mode  and 
Subjects  of  Baptism,"  1835'^;  "History  of  Fall  River," 
1841  ;  and  "  Papers  on  the  Boundary,"  1847. 

From  what  Mr.  Fowler  did  we  may  readily  see  what  he 


He  had  an  air  of  great  dignity,  bordering  perhaps  a  little  upon 
stateliness  ;  a  mind  of  more  than  ordinary  capacity,  always  de- 
lighting in  hard  labor  ;  an  eminently  social  and  friendly  spirit ; 
and  a  disposition  to  turn  all  his  talents  and  opportunities  of  doing 
good  to  the  best  account.^ 

His  mind  was  not  of  that  class  which  takes  in  things  intuitively. 
He  was  a  severe  student.  His  books  of  Hebrew  and  Greek  and 
historical  reference  were  always  near  by  and  showed  marks  of 
being  often  used.     The  bent  of  his  mind  was  rather  for  facts  than 

1  Sprague's  "  Annals,"  Vol.  II.,  pp.  649,  650. 

2  These  lectures  received  warm  encomiums.     See  Scudder's  "  Eulogy." 

3  Dr.  Sprague,  in  "  Annals,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  650. 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  1 27 

consecutive  reasoning.  He  made  thorough  work  with  historical 
documents.  His  most  elaborate  performance,  for  a  single  dis- 
course, was  a  lyceum  "Lecture  on  Cotton,"  which  was  listened 
to  by  large  audiences,  in  several  manufacturing  towns,  with  deep 
interest.  1 

Were  we  to  review  the  traits  of  his  character  which  were  the 
source  of  his  success  and  usefulness,  none  would  appear  more 
prominent  than  his  industry,  firmne^,  teachableness,  honesty, 
and  goodness.  These  were  the  elements  which  made  him  the 
learned  divine,  the  influential  statesman,  and  useful  citizen. ^ 

He  was  shortish  and  stoutish  in  physique  ;  a  short  neck  (ac- 
cording to  pictures  I  frequently  see)  ;  a  broad  white  neck-cloth  ; 
with  a  broad  squarish  face,  and  (physically)  thick  head  above  it.' 
He  was  of  "ye  olden  style  "—called  in  the  children  and  cate- 
chized them  not  infrequently  ;  was  very  systematic  and  precise  in 
habits  and  manner ;  regularly  went  round  the  parish  in  his  calls 
every  quarter,  and  was  a  confidential  adviser  in  every  household. 
He  made  an  appointment  to  meet  a  genial  lawyer  of  his  parish 
one  afternoon  at  five  o'clock.  About  five  minutes  before  five  the 
lawyer  saw  him  coming  near  on  the  street  and  momently 
expected  his  rap.  It  did  not  come  till  the  town  clock  was  striking 
the  hour.  When  the  lawyer  remonstrated  because  he  had  not 
sooner  entered  he  replied  that  in  the  five  minutes  he  had  made 
another  call.  He  had  considerable  ability.  I  suspect  he  had  little 
or  no  humor.  His  principle  was  as  exact  for  others  as  for  him- 
self. He  had  arranged  an  exchange  with  a  minister  some  dozen 
miles  away.  On  reaching  that  man's  house,  latish  Saturday  even- 
ing, he  found  the  minister  at  home,  expecting  to  drive  over  the 
next  morning.  He  immediately  went  out,  got  into  his  carriage, 
drove  home  that  night,  and  supplied  his  own  pulpit  the  next  day.^^ 

The  venerable  Dr.  Ravaud  K.  Rodgers,  whose  year  of 
missionary  service  in  Indiana  was  contemporaneous  with 
that  of  Mr.  Fowler,  from  Athens,  Ga.,  writes  warmly  of 
his  acquaintance  with  him,  referring  to  him  as  "  a  very 
agreeable  companion,  and  a  very  acceptable  preacher, 
whose  heart  was  in  his  work." 

1  Dr.  Thomas  Shepherd,  in  Sprague's  "Annals,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  651. 

2  "  Eulogy"  by  the  Hon.  Zeno  Scudder,  delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
December  8,  1852. 

3  MS.  of  the  Rev.  William  W.  Adams,  D.D.,  Fall  River,  Mass. 


128  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Ravaud  K.  Rodgers,  last  of  the  quartet  referred  to  in 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  is  still  remembered  by  a  few 
of  the  oldest  residents  of  southeastern  Indiana,  to  which 
portion  of  the  state  his  work,  in  the  winter  of  1818-9,  was 
mainly  confined.  In  Madison  especially,  which  he  re- 
visited a  short  time  before  his  death,  there  are  very  distinct 
traditions  of  the  young  eastern  minister's  force,  wit, 
courtesy,  and  kid  gloves.  Though  from  Princeton,  and 
bearing  credentials  from  the  General  Assembly,  his  en- 
trance into  the  Madison  parish,  which  had  a  settled 
minister,  was  not  without  opposition.  Writing  from 
Athens,  Ga.,  March  7,  1876,  Dr.  Rodgers  says  : 

It  was ,  as  I  learned,  that  called  in  question  my 

right  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Indiana,  and  among  other  things 
charged  that  my  views  of  Christian  theology  were  very  incorrect. 
Upon  consultation  with  the  elders  of  the  church  and  some  of  the 
private  members  it  was  thought  proper  that  I  should  on  the  then 
approaching  Sabbath  read  from  my  commission  from  the  board  to 
satisfy  the  minds  of  all  that  I  was  not  that  impostor  which  Mr. 

would  make  me  out  to  be.     He  also  gave  it  as  his  opinion 

that  I  had  no  religion  about  me  !  I  could  not  but  think  on  that 
point  as  our  dear  old  Dr.  Alexander  thought  when  he  was 
inquired  of  by  an  impudent  ignoramus,  "  Do  you  think  that  you 
have  any  religion?"  calmly  replying,  "None  to  brag  of."  The 
good  people  of  Madison,  notwithstanding  all  that  was  said,  treated 
me  with  great  kindness. 

In  another  communication,  February  17,  1876,  referring 
to  an  invitation  he  had  received  to  visit  Indiana  once 
more,  he  says  : 

I  dare  not  even  think  of  such  a  visit.  I  had  better  be  preparing 
for  a  visit  elsewhere.  I  have  the  pleasant  hope  of  meeting  some 
beyond  the  dark  river  with  whom  I  took  sweet  counsel  in  the 
days  when,  as  an  inexperienced  youth,  I  endeavored  to  preach 
Christ  in  the  young  state  of  Indiana. 

Dr.  Rodgers  was  born  in  New  York  City,  November, 
1797.      His  father  was  John  Richardson  Bayard  Rodgers, 


A    NOTABLE    QUARTET.  1 29 

M.D.,  surgeon  of  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  in  the  revolu- 
tionary army.  His  grandfather  was  Dr.  John  Rodgers,  so 
long  pastor  of  the  Wall  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  New 
York,  and  first  moderator  of  the  General  Assembly.  He 
graduated  at  Princeton  College  in  1 815,  in  the  class  of 
Drs.  Charles  Hodge,  Symmes  C.  Henry,  and  Bishop  John 
Johns.  After  his  graduation  from  Princeton  Seminary  in 
1 81 8,  and  the  brief  missionary  tour  in  Indiana,  he  was 
settled  at  Sandy  Hill,  N.  Y.,  for  ten  years,  removing  from 
there  to  take  the  pastorate  at  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  which 
he  retained  for  forty-four  years.  He  was  stated  clerk  of 
the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  for  thirty-six  years,  and  in  coun- 
cils of  the  church  occupied  a  place  of  prominence.  When 
increasing  infirmities  admonished  him  to  relinquish  active 
labor  he  retired  to  Athens,  Ga.,  the  residence  of  his  only 
child,  the  wife  of  R.  L.  Bloomfield,  Esq.,  where  he  en- 
joyed the  serenity  of  a  beautiful  old  age.  His  death 
occurred  January  12,  1879.  He  was  buried  in  the  Bound 
Brook  cemetery,  where  his  children  rest,  and  many  to 
whom  for  so  long  a  period  he  ministered  in  the  gospel. 

It  was  late  in  18 18'  that  Charles  Stebbins  Robinson, 
a  representative  of  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  of 
New  York  City,  on  his  way  to  Missouri  crossed  the  state 
of  Indiana,  where  he  preached  the  gospel  and  made  care- 
ful observation  of  the  religious  destitutions.  A  page  from 
his  experience  on  the  frontier  well  exhibits  the  self-denials 
and  sufferings  from  which  the  church  and  the  nation  have 
gathered  so  rich  a  harvest. 

I  have  worn  myself  out  in  the  missionary  service  and  now  I 
have  not  the  means  of  taking  a  journey,  the  only  way  that  remains 

1  Not  in  1816,  as  Gillett  says  (Vol.  II.,  p.  397),  and  Roy  in  his  "  Historical  Sketch  of 
Congregationalism  and  Presbyterianism  in  Indiana."  Born  at  Granville,  Mass.,  May 
ag,  1791,  a  graduate  of  Williams  in  1814,  and  of  Andover  in  1818,  reaching  St.  Charles, 
Mo.,  December  7,  1818,  Robinson  made  that  the  center  of  missionary  operations  until 
his  death,  February  25,  1828.     His  widow  survived  until  August  28,  1833. 


I30  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  restoring  my  health  ;  and  indeed  scarcely  of  procuring  for  my- 
self the  comforts  of  life  as  I  sink  into  the  grave,  and  leave  my 
family  none  knows  to  whose  care,  except  there  is  a  God  of  the 
widow  and  the  fatherless.  Since  I  have  been  in  St.  Charles  I 
once  had,  for  a  considerable  time,  nothing  to  eat  but  milk.  I 
went  to  the  store  for  necessary  food,  and  was  refused  because  I 
had  not  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  I  returned  to  my  destitute 
family,  you  may  imagine  with  what  feelings.  None  knew  of  our 
distress  but  those  who  felt  it.  It  was  November,  the  cold  wind 
found  ready  entrance  to  our  cabin,  and  we  had  no  wood.  I  pro- 
cured a  spade  with  a  view  of  remedying  the  evil  as  well  as  I  could, 
throwing  up  a  bank  around  the  house.  I  had  scarcely  dug  into 
the  earth  a  foot  when  to  my  surprise  I  threw  up  a  silver  dollar 
which  had  long  been  bedded  beneath  the  surface.  The  goodness 
of  God  filled  my  heart,  and  I  must  say  I  wept  plentifully  at  the 
sight  of  it.  I  could  not  help  it.  This  served  to  furnish  us  with  a 
little  wood  and  a  few  necessaries.  But  I  could  not  have  remained 
there  at  that  time  had  it  not  been  for  the  kindness  of  a  friend. ' 

1  See  Missouri  Presbyterian  Recorder,  Vol.  I.,   No.  6,  pp.   169-71.      Cf.    Tke  Home 
Missionary,  Vol.  I.,  p.  115  ;  also,  Indiana  Religious  Intelligencer ,  Vol. I.,  pp.  285-6. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Better  Ecclesiastical  Supervision. 
1819-1821. 

The  labor  expended  upon  the  frontier  at  this  early 
period  would  have  been  much  more  effective  had  it  been 
directed  by  an  intelligent  supervision.  It  was  easier  to 
detect  than  to  remedy  the  difficulty,  however,  and  many 
of  the  missionaries,  choosing  their  own  methods,  were 
also  compelled  to  select  their  own  fields  without  trust- 
worthy information  as  to  the  most  needy  vacancies  or  the 
most  favorable  openings.  With  a  desire  to  introduce 
something  like  system  into  these  affairs,  the  Synod  of 
Kentucky  had  already  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly 
the  inquiry  ' '  whether  it  would  not  be  proper  for  a  stated 
missionary  to  be  settled  somewhere  in  the  western  country 
(say  on  the  Wabash)  and  for  him  to  be  constantly  em- 
ployed in  the  missionary  service. ' '  *  This  suggestion  of  a 
superintendent  of  missions,  had  it  been  at  once  adopted, 
might  have  saved  many  a  year  of  toil  at  a  period  when  it 
was  peculiarly  important  to  economize  all  the  energies  of 
the  struggling  church. 

The  small  number  of  permanent  pastors  was  a  further 
disadvantage.  At  first  nearly  all  the  missionaries  came 
upon  horseback,  rode  over  an  immense  circuit,  and  then 
returned  to  their  parishes,  or  to  other  circuits,  in  other 
states.  It  required  but  a  brief  experience  to  teach  the 
missionary  societies  the  waste  of  such  expenditures.     The 

1  "Minutes  Kentucky  Synod,"  October  15,  1810,  Vol.  I.,  p.  193. 

131 


132  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

fourth  annual  report  of  the  United  Domestic  Missionary 
Society  says  : 

Under  a  deep  conviction  of  the  prime  importance  of  a  stated 
ministry,  and  in  conformity  to  the  usage  of  this  society  from  the 
beginning,  we  have  expended  the  income  of  the  year  to  aid  feeble 
churches  and  congregations  in  the  support  of  ministers  who  were 
already  settled  over  them  as  pastors,  or  who  had  the  prospect  of 
being  permanently  employed  to  watch  for  souls  as  they  that  must 
give  account.  We  have,  accordingly,  in  general  discountenanced 
the  system  of  itineracy,  which  has  been  pursued  in  too  many 
instances,  in  this  and  other  countries,  to  comparatively  little 
effect.  It  has  been  required  of  the  missionaries  of  this  society  to 
confine  their  labors  principally  to  a  specified  field,  embracing 
one  or  at  most  two  or  three  churches  or  congregations.  Experi- 
ence has  convinced  this  committee,  and  we  rejoice  to  perceive  in 
the  recent  usage  of  other  domestic  missionary  societies,  that  the 
Christian  public  are  beginning  to  be  convinced  that  the  system  of 
charitable  aid,  which  furnishes  weak  congregations  with  the 
means  of  supporting  a  settled  ministry,  is  far  more  effective  in 
its  permanent  results  than  that  which  embraces  a  wider  field,  and 
plants  but  does  not  water.  The  latter  too  often  disappoints  and 
discourages  those  whom  it  excites  and  interests;  the  former 
pours  upon  its  beneficiaries  a  perennial  stream  of  those  saving 
benefits  which  it  has  already  taught  them  to  value.  To  maintain 
a  permanent  ministry,  therefore,  on  as  wide  a  field  as  we  have 
had  abihty  to  occupy,  has  been  our  settled  purpose.^ 

But  this  purpose  was  continually  thwarted  by  the  lack 
of  men.  The  great  majority  of  missionaries  to  Indiana 
were  still  itinerants,  concerning  whom  Dickey  observed 
that  ' '  from  the  brevity  of  the  commissions  and  the  ex- 
tensive field  of  operations  which  they  embrace,  the  good 
effected  has  been  by  no  means  proportionate  to  the  time 
and  treasure  expended."^ 

In  1 819  and  the  two  succeeding  years  the  names  of 
eleven  new  missionaries  appear,  but  it  seems  that  of  these 
only  a  single  one  had  at  the  time  any  intention  of  settling 

1  "  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  D.  M.  S."  (May,  1826),  pp.  18,  19. 

2  "  Brief  History,"  p.  18. 


BETTER    SUPERVISION.  1 33 

within  the  state,  and  he  after  a  brief  service  was  removed 
by  death.  In  1 820-1  came,  from  Tennessee,  Francis 
McFarland,  who  soon  went  westward  to  Missouri  ;  Adams 
W.  Piatt,  who  returned  to  New  York  ;  WiUiam  B. 
Barton,' who  settled  in  Woodbridge,  N.  J.;  Ahab  Jenks, 
from  Ohio,  a  sturdy  representative  of  the  Connecticut 
society  ;  and  George  S.  Boardman  and  John  Vancourt,*^ 
commissioned  by  the  Assembly.  Thompson  S.  Harris 
also  received  an  appointment  from  the  Assembly,  but 
preferred  to  go  directly  to  the  Seneca  Indian  Mission, 
near  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

To  the  year  1819  belongs  an  old  record,  recalling  a 
pioneer  who  until  a  much  later  day  was  chiefly  occupied 
beyond  the  eastern  boundary  of  Indiana.  The  record, 
signed  by  Lowes,  Lowry,  Jacobs,  McLean,  Decker, 
Brooks,  Kennedy,  Laremor,  Harper,  Gardner,  etc.,  is  as 
follows  : 

We,  the  undersigned,  promise  to  pay  the  Rev.  David  Monfort 
the  sum  of  money  annexed  to  our  names — the  one  half  to  be 
paid  in  six  months,  the  other  half  in  one  year  from  the  date 
(April  I,  1819),  in  compensation  for  his  labor  in  preaching  one 
day  in  every  four  weeks  at  Centre  School  House,  four  Sabbaths, 
the  remainder  on  week  days,  for  one  year.  In  witness  whereof 
we  have  set  our  names. ^ 

David  Monfort,  son  of  Lawrence  and  Elizabeth 
Cassat  Monfort,  was  born  in  York,  now  Adams  County, 
Pa.,    March   7,    1790.      His   ancestors   were    Huguenots, 

1  His  work  in  Indiana,  continued  for  about  six  months,  was  chiefly  given  to  the 
Jefferson  church,  Jefferson  County. 

2  Vancourt  seems  to  have  returned  his  commission  without  visiting  the  field,  the 
vacancy  being  filled  by  Barton.  Boardman  was  sent  to  Madison  and  the  adjoining 
settlement,  but  finding  the  field  preoccupied  by  Searle  he  itinerated  chiefly  on  the 
White  and  Indian  Kentucky  Rivers.     Cf.  Gillett's  "  History,"  Vol.  II.,  pp.  406,  407. 

3  Centre  School  House  was  in  Franklin  County,  Ind.  While  preaching  there  one 
Sabbath  each  month  Mr.  Monfort  preached  on  the  remaining  Sabbaths  at  Bethel 
church,  on  Indian  Creek,  Ohio.  The  salary  for  one  fourth  of  his  time  was  twenty-nine 
dollars  per  annum.     John  Brooks  and  Simeon  Jacobs  paid  in  sugar. 


134  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

driven  from  France  to  Holland  by  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  a  race  whose  representatives  in  Johnson 
County,  Ind.,  may  still  be  recognized  from  such  names  as 
Aten,  Bergen,  Bonte,  Brewer,  Brinkerhoff,  Conover,  Dema- 
ree,  Pieterson,  Seburn,  Voris,  Vannuys,  Van  Dyne,  Van 
Dyke,  etc.  Young  Monfort  lived  with  his  parents  on  a  farm 
in  Warren  County,  Ohio,  until  he  passed  his  minority. 
When  seventeen  years  of  age  his  religious  life  began,  in  the 
midst  of  the  New  Light  Revival.  He  became  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  in  preparation  for  the 
ministry  studied  privately  under  the  Rev.  Richard  Mc- 
Nemar,  near  his  home,  and  with  the  Rev.  John  Thomson, 
at  Springfield,  now  Springdale,  near  Cincinnati.  He  com- 
pleted his  literary  course  in  Transylvania  University  and 
his  course  in  theology  at  Princeton,  graduating  in  1817. 
Licensed  by  the  Miami  Presbytery,  at  Lebanon,  April  4, 
18 1 7,  he  supplied  Bethel  church  for  a  few  months,  re- 
ceived a  call  as  pastor,  and  was  ordained  and  installed 
October  20  of  the  same  year.  This  pastorate  continued 
ten  years  and  was  both  happy  and  useful.  Mr.  Monfort 
was  strong,  active,  of  fine  personal  appearance,  a  good 
student,  an  attractive  writer  and  speaker,  and  withal  an 
excellent  singer.  His  church  became  the  largest  in  the 
state,  with  the  exception  of  the  First  Church,  Cincinnati. 
Besides  the  regular  engagement  at  ' '  Centre  School 
House,"  already  alluded  to,  he  also  occasionally  preached 
during  the  Bethel  pastorate  at  Lawrenceburgh,  Brook- 
ville,  Mt.  Carmel,  Dunlapsville,  Connersville,  and  other 
points  in  Indiana. 

In  1828  he  took  charge  of  the  church  at  Terre  Haute, 
where  he  remained  but  two  years,  in  the  midst  of  affliction 
and  suffering.  He  lost  his  wife  and  daughter,  and  was 
himself  visited  with  severe  sickness,  causing  a  lameness 
from  which  he  never  recovered.  Returning  to  Ohio  he 
spent  one  year  in  Wilmington  and  its  neighborhood,  when 


BETTER    SUPERVISION.  135 

he  again  came  to  Indiana  and  began  his  long  pastorate 
at  Franklin.  He  was  now  in  feeble  health,  but  worked 
incessantly  and  with  great  success.  Death  once  more 
visited  his  house,  removing  his  second  wife,  Rhoda  Hal- 
sey,  of  Lebanon,  Ohio,  immediately  after  his  settlement  at 
Franklin.  Until  1838  he  was  also  pastor  of  the  Hopewell 
church,  receiving  a  salary  of  three  hundred  dollars  from 
both  societies.  After  a  service  of  nineteen  years  at  Frank- 
Hn  he  retired,  in  1850,  living  for  a  time  at  Kingston,  Ind., 
Decatur,  111.,  and  finally  at  Macomb,  111.,  where  he  died, 
suddenly,  of  paralysis,  October  18,  1860.^ 

Dr.  Monfort  -  was  a  man  of  wide  and  varied  learning.  He  was 
trimly  built,  though  undersized  in  person,  had  dark  hair  and  eyes, 
a  narrow  high  forehead,  and  was  remarkably  neat  in  his  dress. 
His  manners  were  engaging.  Whilst  always  serious  he  was  never 
gloomy  and  forbidding.  He  held  in  scrupulous  regard  all  the 
proprieties  and  conventionalities  of  life.  No  incident  is  preserved 
to  indicate  that  he  had  the  slightest  tendency  to  wit  or  humor. 
He  was  possessed  of  a  sound  and  discriminating  judgment;  knew 
how  to  gain  the  good  will  of  men  and  how  to  hold  their  esteem. 
His  views  of  religious  truth  were  clear  and  decided,  and  what  he 
believed  he  preached  with  all  the  might  that  was  in  him.  As 
a  speaker  his  most  marked  characteristic  was  his  great  clearness. 
He  was  a  teacher  of  men,  excelling  in  doctrinal  discourse,  but  on 
occasions  he  preached  wath  great  feeling.  His  manner  was 
deliberate,  calm,  solemn,  and  earnest.^ 

He  was  thoroughly  versed  in  ecclesiastical  jurisprudence 
and  his  opinions  as  to  principles  and  precedents  had  in  the 
church  courts  almost  the  force  of  law.  ^ 

1  Cf.  "  History  of  the  Half-century  Celebration  at  Franklin  "  (address  of  Dr.  J.  G. 
Monfort),  pp.  160-4. 

2  Hanover  College  conferred  upon  him  the  doctorate. 

3"  History  of  the  Half-century  Celebration  at  FrankUn  "  (Judge  Banta's  address),  pp. 
149,  150. 

*  He  was  thrice  married.  Of  his  first  wife,  Phebe,  daughter  of  Judge  Isaac  Spinning, 
of  Dayton,  Ohio,  three  children  survived  him:  Elizabeth,  wife  of  the  Rev.  John  C.  King, 
Isaac  Pierson,  and  Lawrence.  Of  his  third  wife,  Ann  Ray,  of  Indianapolis,  were  the 
Rev.  Cornelius  V.,  Mary,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Robert  M.  Roberts,  John,  Andrew,  and 
Phebe. 


136  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

To  the  one  Presbyterian  minister  who  in  1819  came 
to  take  up  his  residence  in  the  state  a  tragic  interest 
belongs.  He  traveled  half-way  across  the  continent  to  his 
field  on  the  Ohio  at  Madison.  At  that  time  this  perhaps 
seemed  the  most  important  Indiana  parish.  Established 
four  years  previously  by  William  Robinson,  and  by  him 
irregularly  supplied,  though  the  congregation  had  not 
grown  rapidly  its  position  gave  it  a  sort  of  metropolitan 
influence.  Until  a  much  later  period  Madison  was  the 
market  for  Monfort's  future  parishioners  at  Franklin,  and 
even  for  the  stragglers  still  further  north  who  were  soon 
to  build  their  cabins  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  coming 
capital  of  the  state.  The  church  on  the  Ohio  needed  and 
was  now  to  secure  a  master-workman. 

Thomas  C.  Searle  came  to  Indiana  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  of  New  York  City. 
A  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College  and  of  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  he  began  his  ministry  at  Montgomery 
Court  House,  Maryland.'  Chosen  in  181 7  to  the  pro- 
fessorship of  logic  at  Dartmouth  he  retired  from  that 
position  to  enter  the  missionary  service.  He  was  present, 
August  15,  1819,  with  Thomas  Cleland  and  John  M. 
Dickey,  at  the  second  communion  season,  of  which  a 
record  is  preserved  in  the  Madison  church.  From  that 
date  he  assumed  the  care  of  the  parish.  On  March  4, 
1820,  he  constituted  the  Hanover  church,  Clifty  Creek 
forming  the  boundary  between  it  and  the  Madison  congre- 
gation. His  New  Hampshire  attachments  determined  the 
name  of  the  society,  and  thus  also  of  the  future  college.^ 
He  was  installed  over  the  Madison  and  Hanover  churches, 

1  Cf.  MS.  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Reed,  who  in  1829  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  history  of 
Vincennes  Presbytery,  and  has  left  the  notes  he  had  begun  with  some  assiduity  to  collect. 
With  regard  to  Searle  see  also  Reed's  "  Christian  Traveller,"  pp.  92,  213. 

2  The  same  circumstances  likewise  gave  a  name  to  the  church  which  Mr.  Searle  con- 
stituted in  Jennings  and  Ripley  Counties,  August  17,  1821,  and  called  "Dartmouth." 
This  organization  soon  disappeared  in  the  Graham  and  Vernon  churches. 


BETTER    SUPERVISION.  1 37 

August  13,  1820.  With  great  zeal  and  with  flattering 
success  he  prosecuted  his  work  ;  but  the  autumn  of  1821 
was  in  a  marked  degree  unwholesome,  and  the  young 
pastor  was  soon  prostrated  with  a  bilious  fever.  Descend- 
ing too  soon  from  his  chamber  to  preside  over  the  nuptials 
of  a  niece,  he  suffered  a  relapse,  and  October  15,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-three,  he  died.  Over  the  entire  community 
not  only,  but  over  the  whole  region,  the  shadow  of  this 
event  long  rested,  Mr.  Searle's  capacities,  devotedness, 
and  popularity  having  justly  excited  the  highest  anticipa- 
tions. Of  slight  and  trim  figure,  attractive  in  appearance 
and  manner,  he  had  at  once  become  a  favorite.  With 
affectionate  laudation,  seldom  more  fully  deserved,  the 
afflicted  church  inscribed  upon  his  tombstone  in  the  old 
cemetery  their  sense  of  his  worth  :  "  As  a  man  he  was 
universally  loved  and  respected  ;  as  a  Christian  he  was 
a  pattern  for  all  ;  as  a  scholar  and  promoter  of  learning  he 
held  the  first  rank  ;  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  he 
excelled. ' ' 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Indianapolis. 

1821. 

The  seat  of  government  of  the  Indiana  territory  was 
originally  at  Vincennes,  its  oldest  settlement  and  safest 
military  post.  By  the  legislature  of  1813  the  capital  was 
transferred  to  Corydon,  where,  in  December  of  that  year, 
Governor  Posey  delivered  his  first  message  to  the  General 
Assembly.  Having  created  a  state  government  by  the  act 
approved  April  19,  1816,  the  national  Congress  donated 
four  sections  of  land,  to  be  selected  by  the  legislature,  for 
a  permanent  capital.  Ten  commissioners  were  accordingly 
designated,  January  11,  1820,  to  choose  a  suitable  location 
near  the  center  of  the  state,  and  three  of  the  five  who 
served  upon  the  commission  reported  in  favor  of  the  pres- 
ent site.'.  The  report  was  approved  January  6,  1821,  and 
at  the  suggestion  of  Judge  Jeremiah  Sullivan,  of  Madison, 
Indianapolis^  was  fixed  upon  as  the  future  city's  name. 

When  the  legislative  commission  made  their  report  the 
whole  region  comprising  the  new  seat  of  government  was 
still  in  possession  of  the  Indians.  Ceded  by  them  to  the 
white  men,  October  3,  1818,  the  treaty  at  St.  Mary's, 
Ohio,  then  expressly  stipulated  that  they  should  not  be 
ejected  until  1821.  The  reported  fertility  of  "the  new  pur- 
chase"   had,   however,   already  begun    to  attract  settlers. 

1  Naturally  William  Conner,  "  the  Father  of  Central  Indiana,"  at  whose  house  the 
commissioners  met,  about  sixteen  miles  north  of  the  present  capital,  strongly  favored  the 
selection  of  that  locality,  now  Noblesville. 

3  By  General  Marston  G.  Clark,  brother  of  General  George  Rogers  Clark,  ''  Tecum- 
seh  "  was  suggested.     Another  commissioner  advocated  "  Suwaroff." 

138 


Indianapolis.  139 

George  Pogue,  a  blacksmith,  according  to  tradition  came 
to  the  site  of  Indianapolis  from  the  Whitewater,'  March  2, 
1 819.  About  the  same  time  came  also  John  and  James 
McCormick.  These  were  the  earliest  arrivals.  Late  in 
1820  and  in  the  following  spring,  this  patch  of  forest 
having  now  acquired  celebrity  from  the  commissioners' 
report  to  the  legislature,  other  frontiersmen  appeared.  In 
April,  1 82 1,  the  surveyors,  under  Alexander  Ralston, 
commenced  the  labor  of  laying  of?  the  town,  and  on  the 
tenth  of  October  following  the  state  agent.  General  John 
Carr,  opened  the  public  sale  of  alternate  lots  in  Matthias 
Nowland's  log  tavern,  on  Washington,  west  of  Missouri 
Street.  The  sale  occupied  several  days,  and  three  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  lots  were  disposed  of.  The  Indianapo- 
lis history  was  thus  fairly  begun. 

These  beginnings  were  in  the  literal  wilderness.  The 
forests  were  most  dense.  What  sort  of  trees  stood  com- 
pactly for  a  hundred  miles  in  every  direction  from  this 
classical  clearing  may  be  suspected  from  the  fact  that  in 
the  winter  of  1820  under  the  river  bank,  near  Washington 
Street,  a  hollow  sycamore  log  furnished  Wyandotte  John  a 
commodious  dwelling.  The  undergrowth  of  hazel  and 
pawpaw  and  spicewood  was  nearly  impenetrable.  To  all 
ordinary  effort  the  region  was  inaccessible  on  account  of 
the  mud,  the  level  surface  and  the  thick  shade  effecting  a 
direful  conspiracy  of  bogs.  An  Episcopal  missionary  sent 
from  Philadelphia  declared  that,  though  an  old  traveler,  he 
had  never  in  any  part  of  the  world  felt  himself  to  be  in 
greater  peril  than  when  attempting  to  ride  a  horse  through 
the  mire  from  Madison  to  the  new  capital.  The  agues 
were  as  colossal  as  the  swamps  and  the  timber.  At  times 
the  whole  population  was  prostrated.  It  would  not  seem 
that  the  attractions  of  the  place  were  remarkable.     A  Pari- 

1  The  first  emigrants  from  the  eastward  and  from  Kentucky  were  nearly  equal  in 
numbers.    The  former  were  known  as  the  "  Whitewater  "  people. 


140  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

sian  transported  over  the  poplars  and  walnuts  in  the 
summer  of  1821,  and  set  down  at  Carter's  tavern  on 
"Berry's  Trace,"  would  soon  have  begun  to  sigh  for 
home. 

But  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  isolated,  sallow, 
log-cabined  settlement  was  either  puny  or  pitiable.  The 
truth  is  that  a  singularly  hardy  and  energetic  population 
were  already  here,  and  such  were  their  mental  and  social 
qualities  that  at  least  on  its  well  days  and  intermittently 
the  hamlet  had  an  air  not  only  of  cheerfulness  but  of  dig- 
nity. Calvin  Fletcher,  Harvey  Gregg,  and  Obed  Foote 
were  the  attorneys.  Isaac  Coe,  Samuel  G.  Mitchell,  and 
Livingston  Dunlap  dispensed  the  Peruvian  bark  and  calo- 
mel, and  were  assisted  by  Jonathan  Cool  whenever  old  rye 
and  old  rhymes  could  spare  him.  Daniel  Shaffer,  the 
Pennsylvania  Dutchman  and  the  hero  of  the  early  "rais- 
ings," opened,  on  the  south  bank  of  Pogue's  Creek,  the 
first  store.  He  soon  had  important  rivals  in  John  Givan 
and  Nicholas  McCarty.  Colonel  James  Blake  was  the 
steam-engine  of  the  place  in  those  days  when  steam- 
engines  were  almost  unknown.  James  M.  Ray,  the  clerk 
at  the  sale  of  lots,  became  the  first  county  clerk.  Caleb 
Scudder  was  the  cabinet-maker,  Wilkes  Reagan  the 
butcher,  and  John  Van  Blaricum  the  horse-shoer.  Amos 
Hanway  made  the  wash-tubs  and  buckets,  and  Samuel  S. 
Rooker,  the  first  sign-painter,  soon  had  orders  from  Car- 
ter's "Rosebush"  and  Hawkins's  "Eagle"  Tavern. 
Samuel  Henderson  was  postmaster  until  1829  ;  Morris 
Morris  and  Daniel  Yandes  were  projecting  corn-fields  and 
tan-yards  ;  George  Smith,  of  the  coming  Gazette  news- 
paper, made  himself  queer  with  a  long  queue  supersti- 
tiously  tied  with  an  eel-skin  string  ;  and  John  McCormick 
was  the  crack  fisherman,  who,  it  was  said,  could  in  two  or 
three  hours  load  a  canoe  with  '  *  gar ' '  from  his  lucky  gig. 

Of  the  primitive  population  it  will  be  seen  that  a  large 


INDIANAPOLIS.  I4I 

and  influential  portion  was  Presbyterian.  A  minister  soon 
came  to  them.  In  August,  1821,  two  months  before  the 
sale  of  lots,  the  first  Presbyterian  sermon  was  delivered. 
The  service  was  held  under  a  large  black  walnut  tree  near 
the  southwest  corner  of  Washington  and  Mississippi 
Streets,  the  underbrush  having  been  laboriously  cleared 
away  for  the  occasion.  It  may  be  worth  while  to  attempt 
a  reproduction  of  the  scene.  Dr.  Isaac  Coe,  James  Blake, 
Caleb  Scudder,  and  James  M.  Ray  were  the  acknowledged 
leaders.  Coe,  by  virtue  of  his  talents,  zeal,  and  ecclesias- 
tical experience,  was,  then  and  afterward,  foremost.  He 
was  as  sound  a  stick  of  Calvinism  as  ever  grew.  He  came 
from  sturdy  stock.  The  first  of  the  name  who  emigrated 
to  America  was  Robert  Coe,  from  Ipswich,  Suffolkshire, 
England,  with  seventy-four  other  pilgrims,  in  the  ship 
Francis,  captain  John  Cutting,  in  the  year  1634.  He 
resided  first  at  Watertown,  Mass.,  and  afterward  at  Stam- 
ford, Conn.  The  grandfather  of  this  first  emigrant,  of  the 
same  name,  suffered  martyrdom  in  Suffolkshire  in  Septem- 
ber, 1555.  He  was  burned  by  Queen  Mary  and  is 
mentioned  in  Fox's  "  Book  of  Martyrs."  Dr.  Isaac  Coe 
came  from  Virginia  to  Indianapolis,  by  Madison,  in  May, 
1 82 1.  He  was  a  man  of  mind,  educated,  thoroughly 
settled  in  the  highest  principles  of  morality,  and  a  com- 
petent guide  in  all  Christian  affairs.  Blake,  whose  cheer- 
ful energy  in  days  of  war  and  peace  was  itself  an 
inspiration,  had  before  him  a  long  and  prominent  career  of 
usefulness.  Scudder,  in  a  quiet  sphere,  illustrated  the 
value  to  a  young  community  of  mature  and  modest  virtue. 
Ray  surviving  until  March,  1881,  was  permitted  to  teach 
another  generation  what  serenity  and  strength  religion  can 
afford  for  days  of  darkness.  ^  Brought  together  under  the 
big  tree  on  that  memorable  August  day,  these  four  men 

1  For  notices  of  the  pioneers  of  the  town  see  Ignatius  Brown's  "  Historical  Sketch," 
HoUoway's  "Indianapolis,"  and  Nowland's  "  Early  Reminiscences  of  Indianapolis." 


142  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTER! ANISM. 

were  destined  in  yet  closer  bonds  to  toil  side  by  side  for 
many  a  year. 

The  preacher  at  this  first  service,  a  stout,  florid  man, 
with  a  great  voice  and  a  big  wart  on  his  forehead,  was  the 
Rev.  Ludwell  G.  Gaines,  of  Ohio,  an  itinerant  sent  to  the 
field  by  the  Assembly's  Committee  of  Missions.  James 
M.  Ray  writes  : 

He  was  a  robust  man,  earnest  in  impressing  the  value  of 
religion  and  good  morals  in  our  young  community,  and  was 
listened  to  with  interest  and  quietly  by  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  settlers  (as  we  called  each  other  then).  His  forcible 
appeals  tended  to  strengthen  those  among  the  first  comers  who 
wished  to  have  Sunday  kept  from  the  beginning  in  the  future 
capital  of  the  state  and  to  have  the  day  rescued  from  the  indul- 
gence in  shooting  game  and  fishing  then  general  in  the  West. 

Licensed  by  Miami  Presbytery  April  5,  1821,  imme- 
diately after  his  Indiana  tour,  Mr.  Gaines  was  in  October 
appointed  to  the  charge  of  Hopewell  and  Somerset  in 
Ohio.  He  died  February  6,  1861.  "He  was  a  man  of 
deep  piety  and  earnest  devotion  to  his  Master's  work." 

It  was  some  time  before  this  community  of  Presbyterians 
again  heard  a  sermon  from  one  of  their  own  ministers, 
though  late  the  same  autumn,'  on  his  way  to  Missouri, 
whither  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society  had  sent  him, 
young  David  Choate  Proctor  passed  through  Indiana  and 
Illinois.  The  lack  of  a  minister  was  in  part  supplied  by 
the  diligence  of  Isaac  Coe,  who  opened  a  Bible  class, 
February  20,  1822,  at  the  house  of  Lismund  Basye.^  Two 
or  three  months  later,  returning  homewards  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi, Mr.  Proctor  spent  a  week  during  the  month  of 
May  at  Indianapolis,  on  several  occasions  preaching  to  the 

1  Cf.  "Life  and  Times  of  Stephen  Bliss,"  pp.  56-9.  (It  was  after,  not  before,  the 
occasion  alluded  to  by  the  biographer  of  Bliss  that  Proctor's  service  at  Indianapolis 
began.) 

2  Cf.  Greene's  "  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Indianapolis 
Sabbath  Schools,"  p.  5. 


INDIANAPOLIS.  I43 

people.  An  effort  was  made  to  detain  him  permanently, 
and  four  hundred  dollars  were  subscribed  for  three  fourths 
of  his  time  for  one  year  from  the  first  of  the  ensuing  Octo- 
ber. The  remaining  Sabbath  of  each  month  was  to  be 
given  to  Bloomington.  Meanwhile  the  Rev.  Isaac  Reed 
visited  the  congregation  about  the  first  of  June  ;  and 
finally,  according  to  the  previous  arrangement,  Mr.  Proc- 
tor in  October  assumed  charge  of  the  parish,  and  thus 
became  the  first  settled  minister  at  the  capital.  During 
this  early  period  the  extemporized  pulpit  was  for  the  sum- 
mer in  Caleb  Scudder's  cabinet-shop,  and  through  the 
winter  at  the  residence  of  Judge  Mcllvaine. 

On  Friday,  March  7,  1823,  the  first  number  of  the 
Wester7i  Censor  and  Emigrants'  Gnide  contained  the 
following  : 

Public  Notice  : — The  Presbyterian  congregation  will  meet  on 
Saturday,  the  22d  day  of  March,  inst.,  at  one  o'clock,  at  the 
schoolhouse  in  the  town  of  Indianapolis,  for  the  purpose  of  incor- 
porating themselves,  agreeably  to  an  act  of  the  legislature,  and 
electing  trustees.  It  is  particularly  requested  that  all  persons  who 
subscribed  for  building  a  meeting-house  and  for  the  support  of 
Mr.  Proctor  will  attend. 

The  subscription  for  the  meeting-house  had  already 
reached  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred  dollars.  The  second 
number  of  the  Censor,  March  19,  says  : 

We  understand  that  the  establishment  of  a  Sunday-school  is  in 
contemplation  in  this  town.  We  hope  for  the  benefit  of  society 
that  it  will  be  successful.  The  advantages  that  have  been  de- 
rived from  these  institutions  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States 
have  already  had  a  very  considerable  effect  upon  society. 

On  April  2,  the  same  paper  continues  : 

We  are  requested  to  state  that  the  Sunday-school  will  hold  its 
first  meeting  on  Sunday  morning,  the  6th  inst.,  at  Mr.  Scudder's 
cabinet-shop. 


144  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

According  to  appointment  the  school  did  meet  amidst 
the  saws  and  the  shavings.  James  M.  Ray  was  elected 
superintendent  and  thirty  scholars  were  enrolled,  of  whom 
some  came  six  miles.  Thus  began  the  march  of  that 
grand  army  fcfr  so  many  years  marshalled,  each  Fourth  of 
July,  by  Colonel  James  Blake,  to  hear  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  eat  gingerbread  in  the  State-House 
Square.  One  of  the  original  members  of  the  first  school 
says  : 

Fifty  years  ago  to-day  I  entered  that  school,  a  boy  eight 
years  old,  and  did  not  know  one  letter  of  the  alphabet,  nor  do  I 
believe  that  among  the  ten  or  twelve  boys  present  there  was  one 
who  could  spell  his  own  name,  or  would  know  it  should  he  see  it 
in  print.  The  incidents  of  that  day  were  calculated  to  make  a 
lasting  impression  on  the  young  mind.  The  Sunday-school  had 
been  the  topic  of  conversation  with  the  boys  of  the  village  for 
some  time.  We  thought  it  a  great  innovation  upon  our  personal 
rights.  We  thought  that  Messrs.  Coe,  Blake,  and  Ray,  who 
organized  the  school,  were  assuming  power  they  had  no  right  to. 
I  was  assigned  to  the  class  of  the  late  James  Blake,  who  taught 
me  the  alphabet,  as  well  as  to  spell  and  read.  In  Mr.  Blake's 
class  I  learned  to  repeat  the  Catechism,  Lord's  Prayer,  and  Ten 
Commandments.  I  remained  in  that  school  some  nine  or  ten 
years  and  there  learned  many  useful  and  instructive  lessons. 
The  rules  at  first  were  most  rigid,  and  delinquency  on  the  part  of 
the  scholars  was  severely  reprimanded  and  reported  to  their 
parents.  One  of  the  rules  required  that  we  should  attend  church 
on  the  Sabbath ;  hence  Sunday  was  a  day  of  rest  to  the  ground 
squirrels  and  rabbits.  Birds  were  left  uninterrupted  to  build  their 
nests.  ^ 

Thus  far  there  was  only  the  Sabbath-school — a  union 
school,  heartily  supported  by  Presbyterians,  Methodists, 
Baptists,  and  New  Lights,  who  for  five  years  wrought 
harmoniously    together.^     But    by    the    Sunday-school    is 

1  Letter  of  J.  H.  B.  Nowland  in  Greene's  pamphlet,  p.  i6. 

2  The  separate  Methodist  school  was  not  established  until  April  24,  1829.     That  of  the 
Baptists  was  organized  in  1833. 


INDIANAPOLIS.  I45 

sure  to  grow  the  church.      Accordingly  says   the    Censor 
newspaper,  June  i8,  1823  : 

We  are  requested  to  give  information  that  a  Presbyterian 
church  will  be  formed  in  this  place  and  the  sacrament  attended 
on  the  first  Sabbath  in  July.  The  service  on  this  occasion  will 
commence  on  the  Friday  preceding  at  two  o'clock. 

This    arrangement   was    afterward    slightly   changed,    and 
the  Censor,  July  9,  announced  that 

On  Saturday,  the  5th  inst.  (July,  1823),  a  Presbyterian  church 
was  constituted  in  this  town.  Fifteen  members  were  received 
into  communion.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Proctor,  the  resident  minister, 
was  assisted  on  the  occasion  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Martin,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Reed,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Day,  who  went  away  pleased  with 
the  conduct  and  orderly  deportment  of  our  citizens. 

So  early  had  the  backwoods  capital  established  a  reputa- 
tion for  propriety  and  order. 

For  the  Saturday  service  the  congregation  found  the 
usual  shelter  in  the  cabinet-shop.  Thither  the  fifteen 
persons  who  were  to  compose  the  society,  with  their 
friends,  made  their  way  through  the  thickets  and  along 
the  cow-tracks.  The  next  day,  for  the  first  communion 
season,  they  were  to  have  a  grander  welcome.  The 
twelve-hundred-dollar  meeting-house  was  not  complete, 
but  could  be  occupied.  Thirty-four  by  fifty-four  feet  it 
was,  on  Pennsylvania  Street,  just  north  of  Market. 
There  assembled  the  Sunday  congregation  with  eloquent 
"Father"  Martin,  ubiquitous  Isaac  Reed,  and  Ezra 
H.  Day,  so  near  the  end  of  his  short  career,  to  assist 
Mr.  Proctor  in  the  administration  of  the  sacrament.  That 
day's  work,  setting  up  God's  altars  in  what  was  to  be 
the  most  populous  and  important  community  of  the  state, 
was  one  well  worth  the  toilsome  journeys  from  Livonia, 
from  the  "  Cottage  of  Peace"  in  Owen  County,  and  from 
New  Albany.  To  complete  the  picture  it  is  necessary 
to  sketch  the   career   and  character  of  the  central  figure 


146  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of    the    occasion,   who   for   a  few    months    longer    was    to 
remain  in  charge  of  the  flock. 

David  Choate  Proctor,  born  in  New  Hampshire  in 
1792,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  and  of  Andover,  was 
licensed  by  a  Congregational  Association,  and  in  1822, 
having  received  ordination,  came  to  the  West,  under  ap- 
pointment from  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society.  He 
crossed  the  Wabash  about  March  ist,  and  on  the  5th 
of  the  same  month  organized  the  first  Presbyterian  church 
in  Edwards  County,  111/  He  visited  IndianapoHs  in  the 
following  May  and  concluded  his  engagement  with  the 
congregation  there  for  one  year  from  the  subsequent 
October.  From  Indianapolis  he  removed  to  Kentucky  in 
the  fall  of  1823  and  took  charge  of  the  Springfield  and 
Lebanon  churches.  His  services  at  Lebanon  were  highly 
acceptable,^  but  in  1826  he  was  called  to  the  presidency 
of  Centre  College  at  Danville,  a  position  which  he  held 
from  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Chamberlain  until  the  election 
of  Dr.  Blackburn  in  the  ensuing  year.  Upon  his  marriage 
he  settled  upon  the  venerable  plantation  near  Shelbyville. 
When  the  education  of  his  children  required  it  he  trans- 
ferred his  residence  for  four  years  to  New  Haven,  Conn., 
having  previously  disposed  of  his  estate.  Returning  to 
Kentucky,  he  purchased  a  farm  near  Frankfort,  where 
he  died  of  pneumonia  January  18,  1865. 

In  person  Mr.  Proctor  was  of  medium  height,  of  dark 
complexion,  and  of  attractive  presence.  He  was  of  a  social 
disposition,  fond  of  anecdotes,  and  devoted  to  his  horse. 
Later  in  life  he  cultivated  a  marked  decorum  of  manner 
and  of  speech.  In  reply  to  an  ordinary  question  about  the 
probabilities  of  the  weather  he  would  be  likely  to  say  : 
"Really,    sir,    I    cannot  affirm,"       To  his  friends  he  was 

1  "  Life  and  Times  of  Stephen  Bliss,"'  pp.  56-9. 

2  "  Historical  Discourse  Preached  at  Lebanon  "  by  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Hogue,  Louisville, 
1859,  pp.  9,  10. 


INDIANAPOLIS.  I47 

Strongly  attached  and  was  accustomed  to  ' '  use  hospital- 
ity." "I  reckon  Kentucky  would  suit  him,"  said  one 
who  knew  his  early  characteristics  and  the  cordiality  of 
southern  society.  "A  real  Yankee  he  was  in  some  things," 
is  the  recollection  of  another  who  had  in  mind  his  minute 
and  sagacious  advice  to  seamstresses  and  cooks.  In  busi- 
ness affairs  his  precision  and  order  became  proverbial, 
these  qualities  also  appearing  in  the  carefulness  of  his 
toilet.  His  thrift  was  extraordinary.  "There  was  not  a 
man  in  Shelby  County  whose  judgment  about  a  horse 
would  be  more  valued. "  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Cleland  speaks 
of  his  recollection  of  names  and  faces  :  "  He  knew  every 
chick  and  child."  One  who  was  long  associated  with  him 
writes  : 

He  was  a  well-educated  minister.  His  preaching  was  sound 
and  useful,  though  not  particularly  attractive  in  the  manner  of 
utterance.  Very  few  of  our  ministers  in  Kentucky  have  done  so 
much  gratuitous  labor  in  feeble  churches  and  destitute  regions.  If 
he  had  given  himself  wholly  to  the  work  he  would  have  done 
more,  but  he  was  exceedingly  sensitive  and  rather  than  be  de- 
pendent on  anybody  he  chose  to  "labor  with  his  own  hands" 
and  preach  without  compensation.  I  think  he  misjudged  in  his 
plans  of  life  and  usefulness,  but  I  confess  to  an  admiration  for  his 
generosity  and  independence.^ 

1  MS.  letter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  P.  Humphrey,  dated  June  27,  1876. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Extension  toward  the  North. 

1822. 

Thus  far  the  labors  of  Protestant  missionaries  had  been 
almost  wholly  confined  to  the  southern  half  of  Indiana.  That 
vast  northern  tract  of  swamp  and  forest  which  with  char- 
acteristic acumen  and  enterprise  the  French  priests  had  ex- 
plored and  seized  upon  two  hundred  years  before,  until  now 
had  continued  to  be  the  happy  hunting  ground  of  Indians. 
Wallace,  a  Presbyterian  chaplain,  had  at  an  early  day  gone 
with  the  troops  to  the  junction  of  the  St.  Joseph  and  the 
St.  Mary,'  but  the  church  sent  no  successor  after  him. 
There  was  indeed  too  scanty  a  white  population  to  require 
a  stated  ministry.  Not  until  1821,  when  the  surveys  for 
the  capital  were  completed,  did  the  conditions  annexed  to 
the  treaty  of  St.  Mary's  expel  the  red  man  from  these 
ancient  haunts  of  duck  and  deer.  Their  enforced  depart- 
ure was  the  signal  for  moving  the  line  of  settlements  north- 
ward. With  the  settlers  promptly  came  a  missionary  of 
the  General  Assembly.  In  December,  1822,  John  Ross, 
who  afterward  attained  a  longevity  entirely  unique  in  our 
annals,  preached  the  first  Presbyterian  sermon  to  the  resi- 
dents of  Fort  Wayne.  From  May,  1820,  to  the  time  of 
Mr.  Ross's  visit,  the  Rev.  Isaac  McCoy,  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  had  resided  there,  preaching  the  gospel  and  main- 
taining a  mission  school  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians. 
In  August,  1822,  a  Baptist  society  was  organized,  consist- 
ing of  the   mission  family,    two   Indian   women,   and  one 

1  See  Chapter  IV. 

148 


EXTENSION    TOWARD    THE    NORTH.  I49 

black  man. '  Mr.  Ross  found  at  the  settlement  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  persons,  including  French  and  half- 
breeds,  mainly  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade.  The  nearest 
village  was  at  Shane's  Prairie,  forty  miles  distant.  Except 
as  the  trace  was  dotted  with  occasional  cabins,  a  day's 
journey  apart,  all  northwest  of  Piqua  was  a  wilderness. 
The  missionary,  who  at  the  time  was  pastor  of  a  church 
in  the  New  Jersey  settlement  on  the  Big  Miami,  opposite 
Franklin,  took  passage  in  a  light  two-horse  wagon,  with 
Matthias  Griggs,  of  Lebanon,  Ohio,  afterward  a  member 
of  the  church  at  Fort  Wayne  and  now  about  to  visit  that 
place  on  a  trading  expedition  with  hats  and  dried  fruits. 
In  a  letter  dated  November  26,  1859,  Mr.  Ross  describes 
the  peril  and  exposure  of  the  journey  ;  how  their  first 
night's  encampment  in  the  woods,  a  few  miles  north  of 
Dayton,  was  made  memorable  by  the  howling  of  wolves 
on  every  side  ;  how  the  snow-storm  afterward  met  them 
in  the  wilderness  with  intense  cold,  which  froze  fast  in  the 
mud  the  wheels  of  their  wagon  ;  how,  failing  to  strike  fire 
from  the  flint,  the  woodsman's  last  hope,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  leave  their  conveyance  under  guard  of  a  faithful 
dog  ;  how,  by  walking  and  leading  their  horses,  the  cold 
being  too  severe  to  ride,  they  reached  Fort  Wayne  at  a 
late  hour  on  a  wintry  night  ;  and  with  what  kindness  he 
was  received  by  Samuel  Hanna,  afterward  long  an  honored 
elder  in  the  Fort  Wayne  church.      Mr.  Ross  says  : 

The  next  day  being  the  Sabbath,  I  preached  in  the  fort  morning 
and  afternoon,  because  there  was  no  other  convenient  place  to 
preach  in.  ...  I  visited  the  place  five  times  from  1822  to 
1826.  I  was  once  sent  out  to  Fort  Wayne  by  the  Synod  of  Ohio. 
In  all  my  visitations  I  preached  in  St.  Mary's,  Shane's  Prairie,  and 
Willshire,  and  scattered  religious  tracts  and  Bibles.  There  was 
no  place  that  appeared  to  me  so  unpromising  as  Fort  Wayne. 
There  was  no  Sabbath  kept,  but  on  the  part  of  a  few.^ 

1  Williams's  "  Historical  Sketch,"  pp.  12,  13. 

2  Williams's  "  Historical  Sketch,"  pp.  13-5.     It  was  not  until  November,   1829,  that 
any  further  missionary  work  was  attempted  at  Fort  Wayne.      The  A.  H.  M.  Society 


I50  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

John  Ross,  who  assisted  so  prominently  in  laying  the 
foundations  of  Christian  society  at  Kekionga,  had  a 
remarkable  career.  He  was  born  of  Roman  Catholic 
parents  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  July  23,  1783.  Early  made  an 
orphan,  he  went  to  Liverpool  when  about  eighteen  years 
of  age,  and  became  a  shoemaker's  apprentice.  He 'was 
three  times  impressed  into  the  British  service,  the  third 
time  just  as  he  had  completed  his  apprenticeship.  Sent  to 
the  West  Indies,  he  finally  effected  an  escape  with  six  com- 
rades, and  concealing  himself  in  an  American  vessel  landed 
at  New  London,  Conn.,  hatless,  shoeless,  and  penniless. 
For  a  time  he  was  employed  at  his  trade,  but  experiencing 
conversion  began  a  course  of  study  for  the  Protestant 
ministry.  Graduating  from  Middlebury  College  and  from 
Princeton  Seminary  at  the  age  of  thirty-four,  he  was  mar- 
ried at  Stonington,  Conn.,  and  labored  as  a  missionary  in 
Philadelphia.  He  was  settled  at  Somerset,  Pa.,  and  suc- 
cessively at  Gallipolis,  Ripley,^  and  the  Jersey  settlement 
in  Butler  County,  Ohio,  coming  from  the  latter  parish  to 
Richmond,  Ind.,  in  the  year  1824.  During  a  pastorate 
there  of  five  years  he  removed  to  a  farm  near  the  town, 
where  he  resided  for  sixteen  years,  supplying  vacancies  as 
he  was  able,  and  until  financial  reverses  compelled  his 
removal.       Again  becoming  a  laborious  itinerant,  his  last 

then  sent  out  the  Rev.  Charles  E.  Furman,  in  response  to  an  appeal  from  Allen  Ham- 
ilton, the  postmaster,  who  represented  that  there  were  five  hundred  people  there  and  no 
preaching  within  eighty  miles.  Mr.  Furman  continued  his  labor  in  the  place  for  about 
six  months.  In  June,  1831,  the  Rev.  James  Chute,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Columbus,  vis- 
ited Fort  Wayne,  and  on  the  first  of  July  following  organized  the  first  Presbyterian 
church,  consisting  of  seven  members,  Smalwood  Noel  and  John  Mcintosh  being  ruling 
elders.  In  September,  under  appointment  of  the  A.  H.  M.  Society,  Mr.  Chute  took  up 
his  residence  in  the  place.  He  was  bom  at  Boxford,  Essex  County,  Mass.,  November 
15,  1788  ;  graduated  from  Dartmouth  in  1813  ;  studied  divinity  under  the  tutelage  of  Dr. 
J.  L.  Wilson,  of  Cincinnati;  and  died  at  Fort  Wayne,  December  28,  1835.  Cf. 
"  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  James  Chute,"  privately  printed,  1874. 

1  Mr.  Ross  was  succeeded  at  Ripley  by  John  Rankin  of  "  underground  railroad " 
fame.  A  son  of  the  latter  recollects  that  the  people  of  the  parish  used  to  illustrate  the 
amiable  unworldliness  of  Father  Ross  by  narrating  how,  though  without  a  horse,  he 
bought  up  sets  of  harness  because  they  were  cheap,  and  in  his  garden  diligently  pulled 
up  the  big  com  to  give  the  weaker  stalks  a  chance. 


EXTENSION    TOWARD    THE    NORTH.  I5I 

•settlement  was  at  Burlington,  Ind.  Overcome  finally  by 
the  infirmities  of  age,  he  found  a  home  under  the  roof  of 
his  daughter  at  Tipton,  where  he  lingered  until  March  1 1 , 
1876,  having  nearly  completed  his  ninety-third  year.  He 
was  a  faithful  minister  of  the  New  Testament  and  showed 
through  all  his  public  life  a  trust  in  providence  which  early 
perils  and  deliverances  had  been  well  calculated  to  de- 
velop. ' 

While  the  new  ground  in  the  extreme  north  was  being 
broken  the  more  familiar  region  along  the  Ohio  was  at  the 
same  time  receiving  attention.  In  the  church  at  New 
Albany,  too  long  neglected,  hope  was  rekindled  by  the 
•coming  of  a  pastor. 

The  plat  of  the  city  of  New  Albany  had  been  drafted  in 
1813.  Five  years  later  than  that,  however,  large  trunks  of 
trees  which  had  been  felled  but  not  removed  lay  over  most 
■of  the  town. ^  But  the  place  had  "a  steam  saw-mill,  sev- 
eral stores,  mechanics'  shops,  and  a  boat  yard  for  the 
building  of  steamboats."  Joel  Scribner,  a  prominent 
landowner  and  one  of  the  first  settlers,  was  a  Presbyterian. 
On  the  19th  of  February,  18 16,  a  church  was  organized  at 
Jeffersonville,  composed  of  members  residing  there  and  at 
New  Albany,  which  was  called  ' '  The  Union  Church  of  Jef- 
fersonville and  New  Albany."  Thomas  Posey,  governor 
of  the  territory,  and  his  wife,  John  Gibson  and  his  wife, 
James  M.  Tunstal,  James  Scribner,  Joel  Scribner,  Phebe 
Scribner,  Esther  Scribner,  and  Anna  M.  Gibson  consti- 
tuted the  membership.  Thomas  Posey  and  Joel  Scribner 
were  chosen  elders.  Subsequently  Mary  Merriwether  and 
Mary  Wilson  were  admitted  to  the  communion.      On  the 

1  At  the  semi-centennial  celebration  of  the  Synods  of  Indiana,  October,  1876,  it  had 
been  hoped  that  "  Father  Ross''  might  be  present.  But  with  "  Father  Johnston,"  the 
only  other  representative  of  the    Northern    Synod  whose  service  reached  back  to  the 

■commencement  of  the  Synodical  history,  he  was  summoned  hence  in  March  of  that  year. 
•One  died  on  the  day  of  the  other's  burial. 

2  "  Christian  Traveller,"  p.  86. 


152  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

yth  of  December,  1817,  all  the  members  residing  at  Jeffer^ 
sonville  having  removed  to  other  churches,  the  Union 
Church  held  a  meeting  at  New  Albany,  with  the  Rev.  D. 
C.  Banks  as  moderator,  at  which  it  was  resolved  that  the 
name  be  changed  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
Albany.  At  the  same  time  four  new  members  were 
received,  making  the  whole  number  nine.  Isaac  Reed, 
the  first  minister  of  the  society,  beginning  his  service  Sep- 
tember I,  1 818,  continued  as  pastor  for  fifteen  months. 
Shortly  after  his  settlement  Orin  Fowler  found  him  there, 
busily  and  usefully  engaged.  Upon  Mr.  Reed's  removal 
the  pulpit  long  remained  vacant  and  the  feeble  church 
almost  died,  the  comfortable  meeting-house  having  been 
destroyed  by  fire.  It  was  not  until  November,  1822,  that 
the  Rev.  Ezra  H.  Day  came  to  their  aid.  When  inviting 
him  to  the  field  the  session  represented  that  it  was  ' '  highly 
important  that  some  effort  be  made  speedily  to  save  this 
wreck  of  the  church  and  to  collect  this  scattered  flock." 
The  pastor's  arrival  at  once  restored  their  courage,  but 
almost  immediately  their  prospects  were  darkened  again  by 
his  sudden  death.' 

Ezra  H.  Day  was  probably  a  native  of  Morristown, 
N.  ].  He  was  a  member  of  Westchester  Presbytery, 
New  York.  * '  His  modest  unassuming  manners,  his  sound' 
judgment  and  evident  piety  endeared  him,"  says  Dickey, 
"to  the  few  friends  who  were  favored  with  his  acquaint- 
ance." It  was,  however,  the  will  of  God  that  he  should 
fall  at  his  post  just  as  he  had  proven  his  peculiar  fitness  for 
it.  A  bilious  fever,  which  at  the  time  was  prevalent  in  the 
neighborhood,  terminated  his  life  September  22,  1823. 
He  was  of  medium  height,  not  stout,  and  of  fair  com- 
plexion. "Gentle,  grave,  and  serious  in  his  walk  he  made 
the  impression  upon  all  that  he  held  close  fellowship  with 

1  Hovey's  "  Historir.al  Sermon  "  in  the  New  Albany  Ledger,  November  25,  1867,  and'. 
MS.  "  History  of  Presbyterianism  in  New  Albany,"  by  the  Rev.  S.  Conn,  D.D. 


EXTENSION  TOWARD  THE  NORTH.         1 53 

the  skies."  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  about  thirty- 
eight  years  of  age.  He  left  a  wife  and  three  children,  who 
returned  to  New  Jersey.  He  was  buried  in  the  old  Lower 
First  Street  Cemetery,  but  the  grave  cannot  be  identified. 

It  was  in  1822  that  William  Goodell  also  reached 
Indiana  upon  his  agency  for  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  which 
had  sent  him  out  to  the  churches  to  awaken  an  interest  in 
the  cause  of  missions  and  to  raise  funds  for  the  work  of  the 
society.  Dr.  Rufus  Anderson  was  afterward  accustomed 
to  say  that  "  Goodell  cut  a  swath  through  all  that  region," 
so  steadily  did  contributions  flow  into  the  treasury  from 
the  neighborhoods  which  had  felt  his  power.  He  was 
then  a  fervid  young  candidate  for  the  foreign  mission 
service.  Those  who  heard  him  on  this  western  tour  were 
not  surprised  that  he  afterward  became  a  learned  linguist, 
a  translator  of  the  Bible,  an  apostle  of  the  New  Testament 
pattern,  the  fragrance  of  whose  life,  like  a  garden  of 
spices,  is  known  throughout  the  Turkish  Empire.  His 
biographer  says : 

Traveling  westward  into  the  states  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  he 
found  in  many  places  an  unexpected  interest  in  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions to  the  dark  portions  of  the  world,  the  result  of  a  gracious 
outpouring  of  the  spirit  upon  the  churches  of  that  comparatively 
new  region  of  country  ;  but  in  other  places  there  was  literally  a 
famine  for  the  bread  of  life,  and  the  gospel  message  which  he  car- 
ried to  them  was  heard  with  gladness.  He  wrote  at  the  time 
(February  18,  1822):  "  There  are  but  two  settled  ministers,  of  the 
Presbyterian  or  Congregational  order,  in  the  whole  state  of 
Indiana.^  I  preached  in  one  place  where  some  of  the  people  said 
they  had  heard  but  three  sermons  from  Presbyterians  there 
before."  - 

Besides    Ross    and    Day,   separated    in    their   work    by 

1  This  was  far  from  correct,  but  only  proves  how  scanty  were  the  means  of  information 
€ven  for  the  most  diligent  and  competent  observers. 

2  "  Memoirs  of  Rev.  William  Goodell,  D.D.,"  by  his  son  in-law,  Dr.  E.  D.  G. 
Prime,  pp.  68,  6g. 


154  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

nearly  the  entire  length  of  the  state,  and  separated,  too, 
by  that  striking  diversity  of  providence  which  called  one 
immediately  from  his  earthly  task  and  kept  the  other  here 
until  more  than  half  a  century  had  been  completed  ;  and 
besides  Goodell,  the  witty,  impassioned,  and  devoted 
friend  of  the  new  foreign  missionary  enterprise,  there 
came  another  from  the  East  to  Indiana,  a  pioneer  of  the 
pioneers,  a  missionary  of  the  missionaries,  a  Hebrew  of  the 
Hebrews,  Charles  Beatty's  son  Charles,  who,  from  his 
father,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  church  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania, had  inherited  the  evangelistic  spirit,  and  was 
hindered  only  by  an  event  which  suddenly  changed  his 
whole  course  of  life  from  permanently  identifying  himself 
with  the  Indiana  settlements. 

Dr.  Charles  C.  Beatty  writes  : 

I  was  commissioned  by  the  Board  of  Missions  to  labor  as  a 
missionary  in  Indiana  and  adjacent  parts  ot  Illinois,  commencing  in. 
Wayne  County,  Ind.  This  I  did  the  first  of  November,  1822,  and 
arriving  at  Indianapolis  toward  the  close  of  the  week,  was  induced 
by  friends  there  to  spend  the  Sabbath,  and  preached  twice  for  Mr. 
Proctor.  On  Tuesday  evening  I  preached  across  the  river  on  my 
way  to  Bloomington,  preached  at  that  place  Wednesday  night,  and 
left  the  next  day,  expecting  to  reach  Mr.  Scott's,  near  Vincennes,  by 
Sabbath.  But  in  consequence  of  a  delay  at  the  river  I  preached 
Friday  night  at  a  small  place  this  side  and  got  to  Carlisle,  where  I 
spent  the  Sabbath,  preaching  in  the  meeting-house.  On  Monday  I 
went  on  to  Mr.  Scott's,  from  whom  I  received  valuable  information 
as  to  my  field  up  the  Wabash  on  both  sides.  He  was  the  preacher 
on  the  Wabash,  missionated  much  and  had  the  care  of  the 
churches.  I  met  him  afterward  on  all  my  visits  to  that  vicinity, 
Vincennes  being  one  of  my  preaching  points.  I  established  a  kind 
of  circuit,  and  went  round  about  three  times  in  my  four  months' 
tour,  closing  it  at  Shawneetown  early  in  March.  Thence  I  passed 
into  Kentucky,  preaching  on  across  to  Shelbyville  and  Louisville, 
from  which  I  crossed  to  Indiana,  visiting  Corydon,  Washington, 
and  Salem,  and  going  thence  back  to  Parke  County,  where  I  had 
organized  two  churches  on  the  Raccoon.^    These  congregations 

1  Shiloh  church  was  organized,  with  seventeen  members,  December  17,  1822.     Eben- 
ezer  church  was  organized,  with  nineteen  members,  January  9,  1823. 


EXTENSION    TOWARD    THE    NORTH.  155 

made  out  a  call  for  me  and  I  made  arrangements  to  settle,  going 
down  with  the  elder  to  the  Presbytery  of  Louisville,  which  met  at 
Charlestown,  Ind.,  and  passing  by  Spencer,  in  Owen  County, 
where  I  assisted  the  Rev.  Isaac  Reed  in  administering  the  Lord's 
Supper.  From  there  I  passed  to  Bloomington,  where  I  preached, 
and  so  on  to  Presbytery.  Here  I  got  intelligence  of  my  father's 
death,  which  ultimately  changed  my  plans.  My  journal  and  all 
my  papers  were  left  on  Raccoon  and  were  never  recovered. 

During  my  four  months'  service  I  organized  three  churches  ^ 
and  rode  over  all  that  western  region.  My  farthest  points  north 
were  Crawfordsville  -  and  the  mouth  of  Vermillion.  Mr.  Balch, 
who  had  brought  an  emigrating  church  from  east  Tennessee  to 
Sullivan  County,  had  died  before  my  visit.  I  knew  his  children 
and  people  and  held  a  communion  at  Turman's  Creek  church 
with  blessed  results.  At  Vincennes  I  always  had  large  congrega- 
tions, and  they  wished  me  to  settle  there;  but  there  was  no  church, 
or  church  members,  though  I  trust  my  ministry  there  had  some 
fruits.  At  Terre  Haute  but  few  attended.  Some  were  gathered 
at  Turman's  Creek,  at  Raccoon,  and  across  in  Illinois. 

My  field  of  labor  was  very  new  and  rough,  but  the  people  were 
kind  and  always  gave  me  the  best.  I  was  a  constant  singer,  and 
I  believe  my  singing  made  me  more  acceptable— popular  than 
my  preaching.  I  found  but  two  places  on  my  whole  circuit  where 
I  could  have  a  room  to  myself  to  study,  and  accordingly  wrote  no 
sermons,  and  but  few  briefs.  I  studied  as  I  could.  I  should 
have  been  very  willing  to  spend  my  life  in  a  log  cabin  on 
Raccoon  and  live  on  the  common  fare  of  the  country.  I  liked 
the  people  and  the  work  ;  but  it  would  have  soon  used  me  up. 
All  the  ministers  were  agreeable  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Louisville  at  Charlestown,  which  I  attended,  April, 
1823,  it  was  decided  to  ask  the  Synod  to  set  off  the  new  Pres- 
bytery of  Salem  ;  which  was  done,  and  I  was  then  expected  to  be 
the  most  remote  member  of  it.^ 

1  The  third  was  Union  church,  Vigo  County,  organized  January  8,  1823. 

2  Here  Mr.  Beatty  solemnized  the  first  marriage  in  Montgomery  County,  Samuel  D. 
Maxwell,  afterward  first  mayor  of  Indianapolis,  being  the  groom. 

3  Letter  dated  October  9,  1876.  Dr.  Beatty  was  present  at  the  semi-centennial  cele- 
bration at  Indianapolis,  October,  1876.  Except  the  Rev.  Ravaud  K.  Rodgers,  D.D., 
of  Athens,  Ga.,  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  G.  Lowrj',  of  Oakland,  Minn.,  he  was  at  that  time 
the  only  survivor  of  all  the  Indiana  missionaries  whose  service  preceded  the  Synodical 
organization. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Shadow  of  Slavery. 
1823. 

Among  the  missionary  appointments  to  Indiana  for 
1823  appears  in  the  records  of  the  Assembly  the  name  of 
Nicholas  Pittinger  from  Ohio.  This  year  brought 
also  to  the  state  Joseph  Trimble  and  John  Finley  Crowe, 
of  whom  the  one  was  permitted  to  give  almost  fifty  years 
of  toil  to  the  Indiana  church,  while  the  other  came  only  to 
die. 

Joseph  Trimble,  a  licentiate  of  Carlisle  Presbytery, 
Pennsylvania,  was  commissioned  to  service  in  the  West  by 
the  General  Assembly.  He  was  tall,  straight,  and  of 
rather  full  habit.  At  college  his  fellow-students  observed 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment  and  his  strong  common 
sense.  His  considerable  talents  and  engaging  manners, 
together  with  the  maturity  of  his  piety  and  zeal,  gave 
pleasing  promise  of  usefulness.  Reaching  Madison  in 
June,  1824,  during  the  following  month  he  received  a  call 
to  the  pastorate  there.  On  the  loth  of  August  the  Pres- 
bytery met  in  special  session  to  ordain  and  install  him, 
but  he  was  already  prostrated  with  a  bilious  fever  and  on 
the  day  following  he  died.  His  co-presbyters  assembled  at 
his  bedside,  and  with  prayer  and  the  singing  of  a  hymn 
commended  him  to  God — a  service  which  is  still  recalled 
as  one  of  the  deepest  pathos  and  solemnity.  The  doubly 
afflicted  church  laid  him  to  rest  near  the  beloved  and  ac- 
complished Searle.  Upon  the  modest  tombstone  is  the 
following  inscription  : 

156 


THE    SHADOW    OF    SLAVERY.  1 57 

In  memory  of  Joseph  Trimble,  who  departed  this  Hfe  August  11, 
1824,  in  his  30th  year.  Mr.  Trimble  was  a  graduate  of  Jefferson 
College,  Pennsylvania,  and  studied  theology  at  Princeton  Semi- 
nary ;  in  1823  he  was  .licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  and  visited 
Indiana  as  a  missionary ;  in  1824  he  was  chosen  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  Madison,  but  on  the  very  day  appointed 
for  his  ordination  was  called  from  his  labors  on  earth  to  his  reward 
in  heaven.  With  talents  and  accomplishments  above  mediocrity, 
he  was  distinguished  for  his  industry  and  energy,  piety,  entire 
devotedness  to  his  Master's  service,  and  the  success  which  at- 
tended his  labors.     For  him  to  live  was  Christ,  to  die  was  gain.  ^ 

A  very  different  career  was  destined  to  be  that  of  John 
FiNLEY  Crowe,  the  founder  of  Hanover  College,  who  had 
previously  crossed  from  Kentucky  into  Indiana  for  mis- 
sionary service,"^  but  now  came  to  reside  within  the  bound- 
aries of  a  free  state.  Born  in  Green  County,  Tenn. ,  June 
16,  1787,  his  early  boyhood  was  spent  amidst  the  privations 
of  frontier  life.  The  proximity  of  hostile  savages  some- 
times summoned  his  father  to  the  camp.  In  1802  the 
family  removed  to  Belle  Vue,  Mo.,  where  for  six  years 
young  Crowe  ^  led  a  careless  and  irreligious  life.  But  a 
few  Presbyterian  families  in  the  neighborhood  having  es- 
tablished a  prayer-meeting,  his  conscience  was  awakened 
and  he  entered  upon  a  Christian  career.  He  was  now 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  soon  began  a  course  of  study 
in  preparation  for  the  ministry.  His  opportunities  for  ob- 
taining knowledge  had  been  few,  but  he  had  read  with 
avidity  all  the  books  in  his  father's  little  library  and  all  he 
could  borrow  from  others.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
left  home  for  Danville,  Ky.,  expecting  to  enter  a  school 
there,  but  upon  his  arrival  he  found  that  the  school  had 
been   disbanded.       In    this    emergency    the    Rev.    Samuel 

1  The  place  of  Searle's  and  Trimble's  sepulture  is  likely  to  be  abandoned  to  less  sa- 
cred uses  at  no  distant  day.  The  graves  are  neglected.  The  freestone  slabs  are  weather- 
beaten,  moss-grown,  and  discolored,  so  that  the  inscriptions  are  scarcely  legible. 

2  He  had  organized  Corydon  church,  Harrison  County,  January  2,  1819. 

3  "  Crow  "  was  the  orthography  in  all  his  own  earlier  correspondence. 


158  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Finley,  pastor  of  two  churches  near  Lexington,  received 
him  into  his  family  and  gave  him  instruction.  In  181 2, 
becoming  a  student  at  Transylvania  University,  he  there 
remained  for  nearly  two  years.  Returning  in  September, 
1813,  to  Missouri,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Esther 
Alexander.  The  young  couple  soon  bade  adieu  to  their 
friends,  packed  their  worldly  goods  into  their  saddle-bags, 
and  started  on  horseback  toward  Kentucky,  The  whole 
distance  was  traversed,  through  almost  unbroken  forests, 
without  fear  or  accident.  Both  had  excellent  voices  and 
often  made  the  wilderness  rejoice  with  hymns  of  praise. 
After  securing  for  Mrs.  Crowe  a  home  in  the  family  of  a 
Kentucky  friend,  the  candidate  for  holy  orders,  still  riding 
his  horse,  proceeded  to  Princeton  to  complete  his  studies  in 
divinity.^  After  a  year  in  the  seminary,  he  was  licensed, 
in  181 5,  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick. 

Upon  the  return  of  Mr.  Crowe  to  Kentucky  he  supplied 
the  churches  of  Shiloh  and  Olivet  in  Shelby  County.  He 
afterward  removed  to  Shelbyville,  where,  in  addition  to 
pastoral  labors,  he  had  charge  of  a  female  seminary.  In 
each  of  these  spheres  of  labor  he  was  both  diligent  and 
successful.  But  the  significant  feature  of  his  character 
appeared  in  the  fact  that  at  this  same  period  he  was  editor 
of  the  Abolition  Intelligencer,  a  bold  and  prudent  opponent 
of  slavery  upon  Kentucky  soil.  While  Dickey  and  Martin, 
his  future  friends  and  companions,  had  already  made  their 
escape  from  the  intolerable  shadow  of  the  peculiar  institu- 
tion, he  remained  beyond  the  Ohio.  It  was  not,  however, 
to  be  presumed  that  even  the  most  cautious  defense  of 
man's  inalienable  rights  could  at  that  period  in  Kentucky 
long  continue  to  be  either  agreeable  or  safe.  It  was 
therefore  a  happy  relief  to  be  summoned  by  providence  to 
other  duties,  north  of  the  fatal  border-line. 

1  "  During  Mr.  Crowe's  connection  with  the  seminar>-  at  Princeton  he  resided  in  the 
family  of  Colonel  Beatty  and  was  private  tutor  to  his  children,  especially  his  son 
Charles,  preparing  him  for  college.     C.  C.  B." 


THE    SHADOW    OF   SLAVERY.  1 59 

In  1823  Mr.  Crowe  received  a  call  to  the  church  at 
Hanover,  and  soon  removed  with  his  family  to  that  place, 
just  in  time  to  be  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  first 
Indiana  Presbytery,  now  shortly  to  be  convened.  In  this 
new  field  he  at  once  entered  assiduously  upon  missionary 
labors,  seeking,  in  cooperation  with  his  brethren,  to  carry 
the  gospel  to  the  whole  surrounding  wilderness.  ' '  He 
manifested  great  interest  in  securing  laborers  for  this  terri- 
tory," wrote  the  Rev.  James  H.  Johnston,^  "and  was 
instrumental  in  doing  much  for  the  accomplishment  of  this 
object."  It  was  the  lack  of  laborers,  daily  pressed  upon 
his  attention  as  he  rode  among  the  multiplying  settle- 
ments, that  from  the  first  unconsciously  urged  him  toward 
the  enterprise  which  became  the  distinguishing  incident 
of  his  career.  If  ministers  enough  could  not  be  gotten 
from  abroad,  was  it  not  possible  to  make  them  here  at 
home?  This  problem  burned  in  his  bones.  It  never 
let  him  rest.  It  was  the  quiet  but  constant  passion  of 
his  subsequent  life,  enabling  him  without  the  endowments 
of  genius  and  in  the  use  of  such  scanty  and  homely 
materials  and  methods  as  the  frontier  offered,  to  project 
and  achieve  an  enterprise  of  the  greatest  utility. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1827,  he  opened  a  school  for 
boys  in  a  log  house  on  his  own  premises.  Before  the  close 
of  a  week  six  students  were  enrolled,  and  this  little  school 
was  the  beginning  of  Hanover  College  and  of  Indiana 
Theological  Seminary,  now  the  McCormick  Seminary  at 
Chicago.  Through  manifold  vicissitudes  and  perils  he 
continued  to  guard  and  aid  this  child  of  his  faith  and 
prayer  for  more  than  thirty  years.  In  connection  with 
the  school  he  held  the  pastorate  of  the  church  until  1832, 
when  he  began  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to  the 
college,   either  as  instructor  or  financial  agent.      In   1838 

1  In  a  letter  to  Professor  Joshua  B.  Garritt,  whose  own  MSS.  have  greatly  aided  the 
preparation  of  this  sketch. 


l6o  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

he  again  assumed  charge  of  the  church,  retaining  it  until 
1847,  when  once  more  he  gave  all  his  time  to  the  college. 
He  continued  in  its  service  until  laid  aside  from  active 
-duties  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis  in  January,  1859.  From 
this  stroke  he  recovered  in  a  great  measure,  and  was  able 
to  occupy  himself  with  the  preparation  of  a  history  of  the 
institution,  in  founding  which  his  own  instrumentality  had 
been  so  conspicuous.'  Finally,  January  17,  i860,  in  the 
-seventy-third  year  of  his  age,  he  fell  asleep. 

The  qualities  which  marked  Dr.  Crowe,  and  admirably 
fitted  him  for  his  task,  were  conscientiousness,  industry, 
•and  perseverance.  In  early  life  he  enjoyed  few  of  those 
facilities  for  intellectual  culture  which  are  now  common, 
;and  it  was  not  until  his  majority  had  been  reached  that  he 
turned  toward  a  professional  career.  Yet  he  became  an 
instructive  preacher  ;  as  a  teacher  he  secured  in  a  high 
degree  the  respect  and  affection  of  large  numbers  of  intelli- 
gent pupils  ;  while  his  undoubted  sincerity  and  uniform 
courtesy  and  dignity  everywhere  enhanced  his  influence. 
Says  one  of  his  Hanover  students  :  ^ 

Tall,  symmetrical  in  form,  stately  and  dignified  in  appearance, 
kind  and  paternal  in  manner.  Dr.  Crowe  was  my  beau  ideal  of 
a  Christian  gentleman.  He  was  my  first  preceptor  and  spiritual 
guide,  after  my  own  father,  and  next  to  my  father  I  learned  to 
love  him. 

Dr.  Edwards  adds  : 

There  have  been  more  profound  scholars  ;  there  have  been 
more  brilhant  popular  preachers  ;  there  have  been  few  kinder, 
more  courteous  gentlemen,  few  more  consistent  Christians.^ 

Among  the  services  rendered  by  Dr.  Crowe  must  also 
be  emphasized  his    continued   advocacy  of  the  principles 

1  The  MS.  has  not  been  printed. 
a  The  Rev.  William  M.  Cheever. 

3  Dr.  J.  Edwards's  "Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Chapel  and  Library  of  the  Sem- 
inary of  the  Northwest,"  p.  ii. 


THE    SHADOW    OF    SLAVERY.  l6l 

of  civil  freedom.  The  ministers  of  the  old  Synod  of 
Indiana,  coming  in  the  main  from  the  Southern  States, 
were  most  intelligent  and  positive  in  their  opposition  to 
slavery,  and  consistent  in  their  efforts  for  its  removal. 
The  constitutional  prudence  of  Dr.  Crowe  did  not  prevent 
frequent  references  to  the  subject  upon  public  occasions. 
At  the  meeting  of  Synod  in  October,  1827, 

a  memorial  on  this  subject,  addressed  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  which  had  been  prepared  by  Rev. 
J.  Finley  Crowe,  was  presented  for  our  adoption  and  received 
the  ready  and  cordial  concurrence  of  the  entire  Synod.  This  was 
but  nine  years  after  the  adoption  by  our  General  Assembly  of 
those  noble  resolutions  of  1818  in  which  that  body  had  declared 
by  a  unanimous  vote:  "We  consider  the  voluntary  enslaving 
of  one  part  of  the  human  race  by  another  as  a  gross  violation 
of  the  most  precious  and  sacred  rights  of  human  nature,  as  utterly 
inconsistent  with  the  law  of  God,  which  requires  us  to  love 
our  neighbor  as  ourselves  ;  and  as  totally  irreconcilable  with  the 
spirit  and  principles  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  which  enjoins  that  all 
things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them."  .  .  .  The  object  of  the  memorial  adopted 
by  our  Synod,  at  the  meeting  referred  to,  was  simply  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  Assembly  to  those  strong  and  decided  utter- 
ances made  but  nine  years  before,  and  to  urge  the  importance 
of  such  action  on  the  part  of  the  Assembly,  from  year  to  year,  as 
would  prove  that  those  were  made  in  sincerity  and  truth. ^ 

The  fate  of  this  document  was  like  that  of  many  similar 
deliverances  of  those  stormy  days.  It  was  deftly  deposited 
in  the  ■  waste-basket  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Leland,  of  South 
Carolina,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Bills  and  Over- 
tures.^ 

1  Johnston's  "  Ministry  of  Forty  Years  in  Indiana,"  pp.  12,  13. 

2  See  Johnston,  pp.  15,  16. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  First  Presbytery. 

1823,  1824. 

The  origin  of  the  oldest  Indiana  Presbytery  is  described 
by  Dickey  in  his  "  Brief  History."  '     He  says  :^ 

Previous  to  October,  1823,  the  churches  in  the  state  of  Indiana 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  were  under  the  care 
of  the  Louisville  Presbytery,  which  generally  met  in  the  fall  in 
Kentucky  and  in  the  spring  in  Indiana.  By  an  act  of  the  Synod, 
October,  1823,  all  that  part  of  the  state  of  Indiana  which  lies  west 
of  a  line  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River  was 
constituted  into  a  new  Presbytery,  denominated  the  Salem  Pres- 
bytery, which  at  its  formation  consisted  of  the  following  members, 
viz. :  William  Robinson,  John  Todd,  Samuel  T.  Scott,  William  W. 
Martin,  John  M.  Dickey,  John  F.  Crow,  and  Isaac  Reed.  In 
October,  1824,  all  that  part  of  the  state  of  Illinois  belonging  to  the 
Synod  of  Kentucky,  which  lies  north  of  a  line  due  west  from  the 
mouth  of  White  River,  was  added  to  this  Presbytery.  At  the 
same  time  that  part  of  the  state  of  Indiana  which  lies  south  and 
west  of  the  following  lines,  viz. :  beginning  opposite  the  mouth  of 
Green  River,  running  due  north  twenty  miles,  thence  north- 
westerly to  the  mouth  of  White  River,  was  attached  to  Muhlen- 
burg  Presbytery.  The  Salem  Presbytery  held  its  first  meeting  at 
Salem  in  April,  1824.  All  the  ministers  belonging  to  the 
Presbytery  were  present  except  one,  who  was  prevented  by  age 
and  infirmity.^ 

The  following  is  a  transcript  of  the  records  of  the  first 
meeting  of  Salem  Presbytery  : 

Salem,  April  /,  1824.     The  Salem  Presbytery  met  agreeably  to 

1  For  the  earlier  ecclesiastical  relations  of  the  Indiana  Presbyterians  see  Appendix  II. 

2  Pp.  19,  20. 

3  The  absentee  was  William  Robinson . 

162 


THE    FIRST    PRESBYTERY.  1 63 

a  resolution  of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  and  was  opened  with  a 
sermon  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  T.  Scott  on  Ephesians  iv. :  3,  4,  and 
was  constituted  by  prayer.  Members  present :  Samuel  T.  Scott, 
John  Todd,  John  M.  Dickey,  William  W.  Martin,  Isaac  Reed,  and 
John  F.  Crow,  ministers  ;  with  Lemuel  Ford,  Alexander  Walker, 
William  Reed,  John  Holme,  James  McPheeters,  James  Carnahan, 
Thomas  N.  White,  Jonathan  E.  Garrison,  William  Alexander, 
Peter  Ryker,  John  Martin,  Samuel  S.  Graham,  and  Andrew  Weir, 
elders.  Absent,  the  Rev.  William  Robinson.  Mr.  Crow  was 
chosen  moderator,  and  Mr.  Dickey  clerk.  Messrs.  Todd,  Dickey, 
and  Alexander  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  standing 
docket.  Messrs.  W.  W.  Martin,  Dickey,  and  White  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  narrative  on  the  state  of 
religion,  and  Messrs.  Scott,  I.  Reed,  and  Ford  were  appointed  a 
committee   to    prepare  a  Presbyterial   report. 

Resolved,  That  the  rules  appended  to  the  new  edition  of  the 
Confession  of  Faith  be  adopted  as  general  rules  for  the  govern- 
ment of  this  Presbytery. 

Resolved,  That  William  W.  Martin,  Isaac  Reed,  and  Samuel  S. 
Graham  be  a  committee  to  prepare  a  system  of  by-laws  for  this 
Presbytery.  A  call  having  been  presented  to  the  Louisville 
Presbytery  by  the  Salem  congregation  for  one  half  of  the  minis- 
terial labors  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  W.  Martin,  which  business  properly 
belongs  now  to  the  Salem  Presbytery,  therefore 

Resolved,  That  the  installation  of  Mr.  Martin  be  the  order  of  the 
day  for  Saturday  at  11  o'clock  ;  and  that  Mr.  Scott  preach  the  ser- 
mon, and  Mr.  Dickey  preside  and  give  the  charge.  Rev.  William 
Martin  and  Lemuel  Ford,  an  elder  of  the  Charlestown  church, 
were  appointed  commissioners  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

Mr.  Tilly  H.  Brown  presented  himself  to  Presbytery  as  a  candi- 
date for  the  gospel  ministry  and  requested  to  be  taken  under  its 
care. 

Resolved,  That  the  request  of  Mr.  Brown  be  attended  to 
to-morrow  morning,  8  o'clock.  Petitions  for  supplies  were  made 
by  the  churches  of  Jefferson,  Shiloh,  Washington,  Graham,  Blue 
River,  Dartmouth,  and  Bloomington.  Presbytery  then  adjourned 
till  to-morrow  morning,  8  o'clock.     Concluded  with  prayer. 

April  2.  Presbytery  met  according  to  adjournment  and  was 
constituted  with  prayer.  Members  present  as  on  yesterday.  The 
minutes  of  the  last  session  were  then  read  and  Presbytery  pro- 
ceeded to  the  consideration  of  Mr.  Brown's  request. 

Whereas,  Mr.  Brown  has  been  under  the  care  of  the  Louisville 


164  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Presbytery  and  examined  on  experimental  religion  and  his  motives 
for  seeking  the  sacred  office,  likewise  on  the  Latin  and  Greek  lan- 
guages, geography  and  astronomy,  which  examinations  were  sus- 
tained, and  he  was  directed  by  the  Louisville  Presbytery  to  prepare 
a  lecture  on  Matthew  v.:  17-20,  and  a  sermon  on  ist  John  ii.:  2  ; 
but  while  attending  to  the  above  parts  of  trial  he  was  dismissed 
at  his  own  request  on  account  of  ill  health  ;  therefore 

Resolved,  That  Mr.  Brown  be  received  agreeably  to  his  request 
and  that  he  prepare  a  lecture  and  a  sermon  on  the  subjects  assigned 
him,  against  the  next  meeting  of  this  Presbytery,  and  that  he  at- 
tend also  to  theology  and  other  studies  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Crow,  with  a  view  to  his  licensure. 

The  committee  to  prepare  a  standing  docket  presented  their 
report,  which  was  approved  and  adopted  and  is  as  follows  : 
ist.  The  choice  of  a  moderator  and  clerk.  2d.  The  reading  of  the 
general  rules  and  by-laws.  3d.  The  reading  of  the  minutes  of 
the  last  stated  sessions.  4th.  Calls  and  supplications.  5th.  The 
appointment  of  committees  :  (i)  to  examine  the  sessional  records  ; 
(2)  to  prepare  a  Presbyterial  report;  (3)  to  prepare  a  narrative 
on  the  state  of  religion;  (4)  to  settle  with  the  treasurer;  (5)  to 
report  to  the  Board  of  Education.  6th.  An  inquiry  into  the  state 
of  religion  within  our  bounds.  7th.  An  inquiry  respecting  educa- 
tion of  youth  for  the  ministry.  8th.  A  call  for  sessional  records. 
9th.  A  call  for  congregational  reports.  loth.  Unfinished  busi- 
ness of  last  Presbytery,  nth.  Appointment  of  commissioners  to 
the  General  Assembly.  12th.  A  call  for  monies  collected  (i)  for 
the  education  fund;  (2)  for  the  commissioners'  fund;  (3)  for  the 
missionary  fund ;  (4)  for  the  Presbyterial  fund;  (5)  for  the  theo- 
logical seminary.  13th.  Appointments  to  supply.  14th.  The  time 
and  place  of  the  next  meeting  of  Presbytery. 

William  W.  Martin  was  chosen  stated  clerk  of  Presbytery  and 
John  M.  Dickey  treasurer.  The  committee  to  prepare  a  system  of 
by-laws  made  their  report,  which  was  amended  and  adopted  and 
is  as  follows :  ist.  The  Salem  Presbytery  shall  have  two  stated 
sessions  in  the  year,  one  in  April  and  one  in  October,  and  these 
shall  be  in  rotation  in  the  churches.  2d.  Presbytery  shall  carefully 
inquire  into  the  state  of  the  churches  under  its  care  and  particu- 
larly that  church  in  the  bounds  of  w^hich  the  Presbytery  may 
meet.  3d.  Presbytery  shall  establish  a  fund  to  defray  its  inci- 
dental expenses,  to  which  at  each  stated  meeting  each  member 
shall  contribute  fifty  cents.  4th.  The  Presbytery  shall  take 
measures  to  defray  the  expense  of  their  commissioner  to  the 


THE    FIRST    PRESBYTERY.  1 65 

General  Assembly,  and  shall  require  the  churches  under  its  care 
to  take  up  collections  and  forward  the  money  to  the  springs 
meetings  of  Presbytery.  5th.  The  Presbytery  enjoins  it  on  all 
the  churches  under  its  care  to  make  some  pecuniary  compensa- 
tion for  missionary  labors  spent  among  them  or  occasional  sup- 
plies sent  them  by  Presbytery.  6th.  The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  shall  be  administered  at  each  stated  meeting  of  Presby- 
tery, under  the  direction  of  the  moderator  with  the  sessions  of  the 
church  where  the  Presbytery  may  meet.  7th.  Presbytery  shall 
spend  a  part  of  the  first  day  of  its  meeting,  if  convenient,  in 
stated  prayer  to  God  for  the  outpouring  of  his  spirit  on  the 
churches,  for  unanimity  and  harmony  in  the  efforts  of  the  Pres- 
bytery in  promoting  the  divine  glory  by  the  salvation  of  souls  ; 
and  the  moderator  shall  direct  in  these  exercises.  8th.  This 
Presbytery  shall  use  vigorous  exertions  to  educate  poor  and  pious 
youth  for  the  gospel  ministry,  and  in  this  way  endeavor  to  supply 
the  vacant  churches  with  the  means  of  grace.  9th.  Presbytery 
shall  require  the  churches  to  forward  their  congregational  reports 
to  the  spring  meetings  of  Presbytery  and  their  sessional  records 
and  reports  to  the  fall  meetings.  loth.  Presbytery  shall  at  each 
spring  meeting  consider  the  expediency  of  addressing  a  pastoral 
letter  to  the  churches  under  its  care.  nth.  A  missionary  sermon 
shall  be  preached  at  each  stated  meeting  and  a  collection  for  the 
purpose  of  missions  within  our  bounds  shall  be  taken  up.  12th. 
Presbytery  shall  require  the  churches  under  its  care  to  assemble 
regularly  for  social  prayer  on  vacant  Sabbaths,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  ruling  elders  of  the  several  churches.  To  this  profit- 
able exercise  the  Presbytery  call  the  attention  of  their  beloved 
people.  13th.  Presbytery  most  earnestly  recommend  to  the 
elders  of  vacant  churches  to  attend  to  catechetical  instruction  of 
the  youth  of  the  congregation  and  that  they  particularly  impress 
on  professing  parents  to  pray  in  their  families  and  to  bring  up 
their  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 

Resolved,  That  each  member  take  a  copy  of  the  two  last 
articles  of  the  by-laws  and  that  the  stated  clerk  furnish  with  a 
copy  the  churches  not  represented  at  this  meeting. 

Received  for  the  commissioners'  fund  from  the  church  of 
Indianapolis  $\  ;  from  Bethany  church,  $3  ;  from  Bloomington, 
I4.25  ;  from  New  Lexington,  $2.50.  Received  from  the  members 
for  the  Presbyterial  fund,  $7.50. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  on  the  state  of  religion  also  pre- 


l66  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

pare  a  pastoral  letter  to  be  addressed  to  the  churches  and  that  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Reed  be  added  to  that  committee. 

Presbytery  then  proceeded  to  a  free  conversation  on  the  state  of 
religion  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery.  Mr.  Henry  Rice, 
an  elder  in  the  church  of  Corydon,  appeared  in  Presbytery  and 
took  his  seat.  Adjourned  till  to-morrow  morning  at  8  o'clock. 
Concluded  with  prayer. 

April  3d.  Presbytery  met  according  to  adjournment  and  was 
constituted  by  prayer.  Members  present  as  on  yesterday.  The 
committee  to  make  a  narrative  of  the  state  of  religion  reported, 
which  was  approved  and  adopted.  The  committee  to  prepare  a 
Presbyterial  report  reported,  which  was  approved.  The  stated 
clerk  was  directed  to  forward  the  Presbyterial  report  and  the 
narrative  of  the  state  of  religion  to  the  stated  clerk  of  the  General 
Assembly  in  due  time,  and  also  to  the  Society  of  Inquiry  in 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 

Messrs.  Crow,  Dickey,  W.  Reed,  Walker,  and  Ford  were 
appointed  a  committee  of  education  to  devise  ways  and  means  for 
the  education  of  poor  and  pious  youths  for  the  ministry,  and  that 
they  report  at  the  spring  meeting  of  Presbytery.  The  committee 
to  prepare  a  pastoral  letter  was  ordered  to  have  it  printed  and 
sent  to  the  churches  in  the  bounds  of  this  Presbytery. 

Mr.  Scott  was  appointed  to  supply  one  Sabbath  at  Washington, 
one  at  Carlisle,  and  one  at  Hopewell ;  Mr.  Todd,  three  Sabbaths, 
one  in  New  Albany,  one  in  Graham  church,  and  one  in  Mr.  John 
Martin's  neighborhood;  Mr.  Dickey,  one  Sabbath  in  Nazareth 
church  ;  Mr.  Martin,  one  Sabbath  in  Corydon,  one  in  Blooming- 
ton,  and  one  in  Terre  Haute  ;  Mr.  Reed,  one  Sabbath  at  New 
Albany,  one  at  Indianapolis,  one  at  Crawfordsville,  and  one  in 
Shiloh  church  ;  Mr.  Crow,  one  Sabbath  at  Dartmouth,  one  at 
Bloomington,  one  at  Washington,  and  one  at  Jefferson  church. 

Resolved,  That  Presbytery  aid  as  far  as  possible  Samuel  Gregg 
and  James  Crawford  at  the  Princeton  Seminary,  now  prosecuting 
their  studies,  and  that  contributions  be  made  in  the  churches  for 
that  object. 

Mr.  Martin  was  appointed  to  preach  the  missionary  sermon  at 
the  next  stated  meeting  of  Presbytery. 

Saturday,  11  o'clock,  Mr.  Martin  was  installed  pastor  of  Salem 
church.  Presbytery  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  Charlestown  the 
second  Friday  of  October,  12  o'clock.     Concluded  with  prayer. 

John  F.  Crow,  Moderator. 
John  M.  Dickey,  Clerk. 


THE    FIRST    PRESBYTERY.  1 67 

These  are  the  records  of  a  small  beginning  indeed,  but 
•every  line  has  life  in  it.  There  is  only  a  handful  of  people, 
but  the  men  are  good  and  true,  and  the  great  harvests 
that  have  grown  from  the  seed  they  sowed  will  surprise  no 
intelligent  student  of  Christian  history. 

Tilly  H.  Brown,  the  young  man  who  at  this  first 
meeting  of  the  first  Presbytery  applied  for  licensure,  and 
whose  studies  had  already  been  delayed  by  feeble  health, 
never  sufificiently  recovered  his  strength  to  endure  the 
hardships  of  the  frontier  ministry.  A  native  of  Fitchburg, 
Mass.,  he  was  licensed  October  9,  1824  (the  first  Presby- 
terian licensure  in  Indiana);  was  ordained  and  installed 
over  Bethlehem  and  Blue  River  churches  June  25,  1825  ; 
served  them  one  year,  found  his  health  again  failing, 
engaged  in  teaching,  and  died  in  1849,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
four.  He  showed  a  remarkable  degree  of  conscientious 
devotion  to  the  Master's  work. 

John  T.  Hamilton,  in  1823  receiving  licensure  from 
Muhlenburg  Presbytery,  came  to  Indiana  in  July  of  the 
year  following  and  connected  himself  with  Salem  Presby- 
tery, October,  1826.  He  was  another  of  the  Presby- 
terians preordained  to  teach  a  school,  but  on  alternate 
Sabbaths  until  February,  1828,  he  also  occupied  the 
pulpit  of  the  New  Albany  church.  This  society  had 
suffered  gready  since  the  death  of  Mr.  Day  in  September, 
1823.  They  were  in  a  condition  to  receive  gratefully  even 
a  partial  dispensation  of  the  Word.  ' '  During  this  period 
it  is  worthy  of  being  recorded  to  the  praise  of  God's  grace 
that  the  members  of  the  church  were  generally  bound  to 
each  other  in  Christian  love,  liberal  in  their  contributions, 
active  in  the  promotion  of  benevolent  associations,  and 
considerably  regular  in  their  attendance  on  religious  meet- 
ings, both  public  and  social." 


1 68  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

While  engaged  at  New  Albany  Mr.  Hamilton  for  two- 
years  gave  a  part  of  his  time  to  the  Charlestown  congrega- 
tion. In  the  following  note  to  the  pastor  at  Madison, 
dated  Charlestown,  September  30,  1826,  he  briefly  alludes 
to  a  "peril"  which  St.  Paul  must  have  omitted  from 
his  famous  catalogue  only  because  he  had  never  en- 
countered it : 

Dear  Brother :  I  have  appointed  a  sacramental  meeting  in  this 
place  on  the  third  Sabbath  in  October  and  I  earnestly  desire  your 
assistance  on  that  occasion.  Since  I  made  the  appointment  I  have 
taken  the  fever  and  ague,  and  am  unable  to  do  anything.  My 
family  are  all  sick.     Do  come  if  possible. 

Near  the  close  of  his  term  of  service  at  New  Albany  Mr. 
Hamilton  removed  his  family  to  Louisville,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  teaching.  He  was  dismissed  to  Louisville  Pres- 
bytery April  4,  1828.  "  The  members  of  the  church  were 
much  distressed  after  his  departure,  and  while  they  sought 
in  various  ways  to  obtain  assistance  they  gave  themselves 
unto  prayer  that  God  would  succeed  their  endeavors  and 
send  them  a  minister  of  his  own  choosing."  '  "A  modest, 
retiring  man  he  preached  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  and 
the  congregation  was  warmly  attached  to  him."  ^ 

1  Cf.  "Records  of  New  Albany  Session." 

2  Conn's  MS.  "  History  of  Presbyterianism  in  New  Albany." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Help   from   Princeton. 
1824. 

With  the  establishment  of  Salem  Presbytery  a  new  and 
more  hopeful  prospect  opens.  Thus  far  the  work  had  been 
too  transient  and  uncertain.  A  considerable  number  of 
men,  thirty-five  or  forty  in  all,  had  come  and  gone  as 
itinerants.  Of  the  actual  settlers  Baldridge  had  removed 
to  Ohio,  Proctor  to  Kentucky,  and  Balch,  Hickman,  Searle, 
Day,  and  Trimble,  more  than  one  third  of  the  entire  com- 
pany of  residents,  had  died.  All  except  the  first  of  these 
in  youth  or  early  manhood  had  yielded  to  the  violent 
maladies  of  the  new  country.  Of  the  seven  remaining  to 
form  the  Presbytery,  two,  Scott  and  Robinson,  were  near 
the  end  of  their  journey.  John  Ross  was  settling  at  Rich- 
mond just  about  the  time  of  the  Salem  meeting,  but  he  was 
east  of  the  Presbyterial  limit,  within  the  bounds  of  Miami. 

The  little  band  immediately  received,  however,  most  val- 
uable accessions.  With  the  exception  of  Samuel  Taylor, 
sent  to  Morgan  County  by  the  Assembly's  committee, 
those  who  arrived  in  1824  became  residents.  Tilly  H. 
Brown  and  John  T.  Hamilton  have  already  been  mentioned. 
The  remaining  five  constitute  a  remarkable  company  of 
enthusiastic  Princeton  fellow-students.  Bush,  the  com- 
mentator ;  Hall,  first  principal  of  the  Bloomington  State 
Seminary  ;  Williamson,  from  Cumberland  Valley,  Pa. ; 
Young,  an  early  victim  of  the  prevailing  disease ;  and 
Johnston,  for  Indiana  the  most  notable  name  of  all. 

George  Bush  was  a  scholar  whom  the  world  now 
claims.     Born  in  Norwich,  Vt,  June  12,  1796,  educated  at 

169 


170  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Dartmouth,  whence  he  graduated  in  18 18'  with  the  highest 
honors,  completing  the  theological  course  at  Princeton  ; 
serving  as  tutor  in  Princeton  College ;  licensed  by  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York,^  preaching  for  a  time  at  Morris- 
town,  N.  J.,  he  came  to  Indiana,  taking  charge  of  the 
congregation  at  the  capital.  At  Dartmouth,  Dr.  Marsh, 
subsequently  of  the  Vermont  University,  Professor  Thomas 
C.  Upham,  of  Bowdoin,  and  Rufus  Choate  had  been  his 
classmates,  the  latter  his  roommate  and  friend.  Mr,  Bush 
brought  with  him  from  Dartmouth  and  Princeton  not 
a  little  distinction  for  classical  and  oriental  scholarship,  and 
for  graces  of  style  in  literary  composition,^  a  reputation 
which  his  subsequent  career  fully  justified. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  1824,  Mr.  Bush  arrived  at  Indian- 
apolis, having  obtained  a  commission  apparently  from  the 
Assembly's  Committee  of  Missions.'*  He  at  once  began  to 
preach  in  the  court-house,  the  meeting-house  being  still 
incomplete.  September  6  the  congregation  "voted  unani- 
mously by  ballot  that  they  are  desirous  to  settle  Mr.  Bush 
as  their  pastor,^  and  appointed  Daniel  Yandes,  Obed 
Foote,  and  Isaac  Coe  a  committee  to  circulate  a  subscrip- 
tion for  his  support."  At  the  schoolroom  in  the  church, 
Saturday  afternoon,  September  18,  at  3  o'clock,  a  meeting 
of  the  society,  of  which  the  Rev.  Isaac  Reed  was  modera- 

1  David  C.  Proctor,  his  predecessor  at  Indianapolis,  was  a  classmate. 

2  "  Minutes  Salem  Presbytery,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  i6.  Dr.  Coe's  MS.  "  History  of  the  First 
Church,  Indianapolis  "  agrees  with  the  above.  According  to  Dickey's  history  (p.  i6)  Mr. 
Bush  was  a  licentiate  of  New  Brunswick  Presbytery. 

3  See  an  appreciative  notice  of  Bush  in  Griswold's  "Prose  Writers  of  America,"' 
pp.  354-6. 

4  This  is  the  statement  in  Coe's  MS.  It  seems  to  be  implied  in  Gillett's  reference  to 
the  matter.  Vol.  II.,  p.  409.  The  next  year  his  commission  was  from  the  United  Domes- 
tic Missionary  Society  of  New  York,  "  for  twelve  months  from  Alay  16,  1825." — "  Fourth 
Annual  Report  of  U.  D.  M.  S.,"  p.  25. 

5  The  congregation  had  preidously,  after  Mr.  Proctors  removal,  made  unsuccessful 
overtures  to  the  Revs.  Samuel  D.  Hoge  and  Wm.  W.  Martin,  the  latter,  however,  not 
receiving  the  invitation  from  the  irregular  post  until  months  had  elapsed  and  negotiations 
with  Mr.  Bush  had  begun. 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  171 

tor,  formally  extended  him  a  unanimous  call,  and  Isaac 
Coe,  Caleb  Scudder,  James  Blake,  Alexander  Frazer, 
William  W.  Wick,  and  James  M.  Ray  were  directed  to 
sign  the  call  for  the  congregation.  Mr.  Bush  was  accord- 
ingly ordained  ^  and  installed  by  Salem  Presbytery,  March 
5,  1825,  his  examination  and  trials  having  been  unani- 
mously, and,  as  the  record  suggests,  with  unusual 
cordiality,  sustained.  Crowe,  Dickey,  and  Reed  con- 
ducted the  service.  Immediately  after  Mr.  Bush  returned 
to  the  East,  to  attend  the  General  Assembly,  bringing 
back  with  him  in  July  his  newly-married  wife,  an  accom- 
plished daughter  of  the  Hon.  Lewis  Condict,  of  Morris- 
town,   N.   J. 

The  settlement  of  such  a  man  in  the  aguish  little  hamlet, 
surrounded  by  bogs,  overshadowed  by  the  "  forest  prime- 
val," and  overgrown  with  dog-fennel,  was  a  great  event. 
He  immediately  drew  about  him  the  most  thoughtful 
and  prominent  citizens.  He  easily  made  friends.  Tasks 
laid  upon  him  by  the  Presbytery  he  cheerfully  assumed. 
Frequent  calls  for  aid  at  "sacramental  meetings"  he 
willingly  accepted.  The  literary  work  that  controlled  his 
later  activity  was  already  taking  possession  of  him.  Under 
his  leadership  the  prospects  of  the  Indianapolis  flock 
seemed  most  flattering. 

It  could  not  be  expected,  however,  that  his  original  and 
erratic  genius  would  long  be  satisfied  with  the  old  paths. 
Some  of  the  more  intelligent  listeners  occasionally  heard  a 
sentence  that  startled  them.  The  session,  representing  a 
good  deal  of  Scottish  fervor  and  possibly  a  very  little 
Caledonian  obstinacy,  were  alarmed.  About  December  i, 
1826,  Mr.  Bush  declared  from  the  pulpit  that  there  was  not 
a  shadow  of  scriptural  authority  for  the  Presbyterian  form 
of  church  government.^     This  led  to  numerous  conferences 

1  This  was  the  first  Presbyterian  ordination  in  Indiana.     Reed's  "  Christian  Traveller," 
p.  200. 

2  See  Coe's  MS.  history. 


172  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

between  the  pastor  and  the  elders,  and  Mr.  Bush  pre- 
sented in  writing  a  statement  of  his  opinions  concerning 
the  questions  in  dispute.  This  statement  refers  to  eight 
separate  points,  as  follows  : 

( 1 )  .  .  .  It  is  not  clear  that  there  is  any  other  visible  church 
besides  this  on  the  earth.  I  cannot  therefore  at  the  present  time 
agree  to  the  definition  of  the  church  given  in  the  confession,  as  it 
would  seem  to  exclude  all  who  have  not  made  a  profession 
though  they  may  all  belong  to  the  spiritual  body  of  Christ. 

(2)  The  great  objection  I  have  to  the  Presbyterian  scheme  lies 
in  this,  that  it  holds  forth  a  vast  visible  body  which  is  said  to  be 
in  the  order  of  nature  prior  to  single  or  particular  churches, 
.  .  .  with  jurisdiction  over  the  component  parts.  I  object  to 
it  because  I  do  not  find  Scripture  warrant  for  the  existence  of 
such  a  body,  and  moreover  because  I  perceive  it  is  precisely  on 
that  foundation  that  the  kingdom  of  anti-Christ  was  erected. 
For  if  the  united  body  of  Christ  is  to  be  considered  as  visible,  it 
will  naturally  lead  to  a  visible  head,  the  fountain  of  church 
power,  and  whether  this  be  in  the  shape  of  a  pope  or  General 
Assembly  the  principle  is  the  same,  and  for  aught  I  can  see  the 
consequences  will  be  likely  to  be  the  same.  Both  are  opposed 
to  the  supreme  headship  of  Christ ;  not  but  the  Presbyterian 
system  may  be  carried  on  for  a  length  of  time  without  any  very 
great  abuses,  but  I  conceive  the  tendency  is  such  as  I  have 
intimated. 

(3)1  hold  to  associations  of  churches  and  pastors  for  purposes 
of  mutual  edification  and  cooperation  in  advancing  the  interests 
of  truth  and  godliness.  But  I  object  to  them  being  regarded  as 
stated  tribunals,  and  would  abolish  such  terms  as  "courts"  and 
"judicatories,"  as  tending  insensibly  to  beget  wrong  ideas  of  the 
true  nature  of  such  councils  of  Christ's  servants  ;  neither  would  I 
have  them  organized  in  several  grades. 

(4)  I  object  to  that  feature  of  the  confession  which  insists  so 
strenuously  on  complete  uniformity  in  this  respect ;  nor  does  it 
appear  to  be  consistent  with  other  parts  of  the  system,  as  may  be 
shown. 

(5)  It  appears  that  the  Presbyterian  view  of  the  visible  church 
leads  to  great  laxness  in  the  admission  of  members,  this  right  of 
admission  not  being  grounded  upon  the  evidence  of  reality  of 
conversion,  but  upon  a  profession  of  it. 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  173 

(6)  As  to  a  single  church  I  hold  that  the  government  is  vested 
in  the  proper  officers  of  the  church,  which  are  elders  and 
deacons,  although  I  consider  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  whole 
church  to  judge  of  any  important  business  in  the  church,  and 
that  every  affair  of  moment  should  be  done  with  their  knowledge 
and  concurrence,  and  generally  in  their  presence. 

(7)1  hold  that  in  every  rightly  constituted  church  there  should 
be  a  plurality  of  elders,  that  these  constitute  what  is  properly 
called  the  "eldership"  or  "presbytery"  of  a  church,  which  I 
conceive  is  all  the  presbytery  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures.  These 
elders  I  regard  as  all  pastors,  whose  duty  it  is  to  feed  the  flock  of 
Christ  and  to  rule  in  it  by  his  word,  not  lording  it  over  God's 
heritage,  but  being  ensamples ;  that  they  are  all  of  equal 
authority  ;  that  they  are  all  equally  the  clergy  ;  that  the  title  "  lay 
elder"  is  improper;  that  although  the  officer  is  the  same,  yet 
there  are  different  departments,  among  which  "  laboring  in  word 
and  doctrine"  is  the  principal,  and  entitles  the  incumbent  to 
pecuniary  support.  Though  cases  might  occur  in  which  even  all 
the  elders  in  a  church  might  properly  receive  maintenance  from 
the  church.  All  that  is  here  asserted  I  conceive  may  be  fairly 
proved  from  the  word  of  God,  and  also  that  the  practices  and 
notions  now  prevalent  respecting  the  elder's  office  may  be  traced 
to  the  ambition  of  the  clergy. 

(8)  I  hold  that  ordination  confers  no  office  power  whatever,  but 
merely  recognizes  such  power  or  character  already  conferred  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  the  presbytery  of  a  single  church  might 
lawfully  ordain  an  elder  without  the  concurrence  of  any  other 
person.  Although  I  would  esteem  it  most  prudent  and  becoming, 
whenever  it  was  practicable,  to  obtain  such  concurrence. 

This  statement  was  not  calculated  to  reassure  the  minds 
of  sturdy  Presbyterians.  They  thought  Mr.  Bush's  system 
' '  agreed  with  no  other  on  earth,  was  erroneous  in  theory 
and  unattainable  in  practice,  as  well  as  inconsistent  with 
itself.'"  They  thought  it,  however,  desirable  to  retain 
their  minister,  if  he  would  refrain  from  the  public  ex- 
pression of  his  peculiar  opinions.  This,  of  course,  Mr. 
Bush  would  not  consent  to,  and  the  negotiation  was 
terminated  where  it  began  by  the  departure  of  Mr.  Bush 

]  Dr.  Coe's  manuscript. 


174  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

for  the  East  in  April,  1827,  to  attend  the  Assembly  and  to 
advocate  in  that  region  the  claims  of  the  Home  Missionary 
Society.' 

He  writes  to  a  friend  from  Princeton,  June  3,  as  follows : 

As  our  session,  that  of  the  Assembly  I  mean,  has  just  closed, 
and  I  have  a  little  leisure,  it  will  not  probably  be  unacceptable  to 
receive  a  little  sketch  of  our  proceedings.  .  .  .  And,  imprimis, 
the  petition  of  the  Synod  respecting  the  boundar>^  line  between  us 
and  Ohio  failed.  .  .  .  The  next  matter  of  moment  is  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Western  Seminary.  This  is  to  be  located  at  Allegheny 
and  Dr.  Janeway  is  to  be  professor ;  at  least  he  is  chosen,  though 
he  has  not  signified  his  acceptance.  There  was  a  strong  pull  and 
a  strong  vote  for  Walnut  Hills,  and  if  the  vote  had  been  taken 
again,  an  hour  after  it  was.  Walnut  Hills  would  have  got  it.  The 
votes  were  44  to  42.  I  gave  my  voice  for  Allegheny  on  the  ground 
that  it  would  be  better  supported  at  that  place  than  the  other. 
The  grand  objections  to  Allegheny  were  that  it  was  not  central 
and  that  it  would  interfere  with  Princeton — serious  difficulties,  I 
acknowledge,  but  I  am  not  sure  that  we  want  such  a  seminary  as 
is  contemplated  any  farther  west,  and  therefore  did  not  plead 
hard  for  Charlestown,-  which  would  have  stood  no  chance  against 
the  formidable  bids  of  the  other  two  sites. 

And  now  a  few  words  for  myself.  It  is  uncertain  whether  I 
return  to  the  West,  This  I  say,  not  because  I  have  secretly 
resolved  not  to  return,  but  to  pre-intimate  to  you  not  to  be  sur- 
prised in  case  I  should  openly  resolve  in  this  way.  You  will 
at  once  inquire.  What  has  happened  to  make  it  uncertain  ?  I 
answer.  Nothing  new.  The  old  sore  still  runs  and  the  symptoms 
are  worse.  Shall  I  return  to  Indianapolis  merely  to  tear  a  peaceful 
church  to  pieces,  and  stand  in  such  a  peculiarly  unpleasant  rela- 
tion to  my  former  brethren,  whom  I  dearly  love,  but  who  could 
not  act  with  me  on  any  other  ground  than  that  of  strict  Presbyteri- 
anism?  What  shall  I  do  ?  I  am  willing  to  go  to  the  West  and  live 
and  die  there.  But  I  could  not  live  at  Indianapolis  except  as 
a  Presbyterian,  and  where  else  in  the  state  would  you  as  a  friend 

1  At  the  first  anniversary  of  the  society,  in  May,  he  presented  one  of  the  resolutions  in 
an  important  address.     See  first  report  of  A.  H.  M.  S.,  p.  6. 

2  Clark  County,  Ind.,  would  seem  to  be  rather  a  feeble  rival  of  Allegheny  and  Walnut 
Hills,  as  a  site  for  a  divinity  school.  There  was  no  audacity  of  faith  of  which  these 
pioneers  were  incapable,  however.  And  three  years  later  they  sent  off  Dr.  Crowe  to 
Virginia  for  Dr.  Matthews,  and  successfully  opened  the  Theological  School  at  Hanover. 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  175. 

advise  me  to  go  ?  How  am  I  racked  with  a  troubled  mind.  And 
among  the  worst  of  all  thoughts  is  this,  that  you  and  others  will 
think  the  cause  insignificant.  But  whether  little  or  great,  it  is 
with  me  purely  a  matter  of  conscience,  and  its  dictates  I  must 
follow.  Pray  let  me  hear  from  you.  Direct  to  Morristown.  My. 
work^  is  now  in  the  press  at  this  place.  The  system  and  plan  of 
the  questions  is  highly  approved,  so  far  as  it  has  been  examined. 
As  to  my  agency  -  I  am  thinking  of  setting  out  immediately  or 
of  getting  released. 

The  following  day  from  New  York  he  writes  to  a 
member  of  the  session,^  and  after  alluding  again  to  the 
possibility  of  remaining  in  the  East,  and  assuring  his  cor- 
respondent that  it  is  "  not  from  any  dissatisfaction  with  the 
place  or  country,"  he  continues: 

I  am  perfectly  willing  to  live  and  die  in  Indiana.  I  am  strongly 
attached  to  the  dear  people  with  whom  I  have  lived  and  labored. 
Indeed  I  knew  not  till  since  I  have  left  them  how  much  I  loved 
them.  But  the  reason  of  my  hesitation  about  returning  is  I  cannot 
hope  to  serve  God  according  to  those  rules  which  I  conscientiously 
believe  he  has  laid  down  in  his  word  for  the  government  of  his 
people.  I  wish,  therefore,  to  be  placed  in  a  situation  where  I 
can  act  upon  those  principles  of  church  order  which  the  great  Head 
of  the  church  has  instituted  and  enjoined.  In  several  important 
points  I  do  not  regard  the  Presbyterian  polity  as  being  that  which 
Christ  has  established,  or  which  I  can  properly  countenance  even 
by  the  slender  influence  of  my  example  or  practice. 

The  grand  features  of  the  scheme  to  which  I  principally  object 
are  the  authority  claimed  by  their  courts,  for  which  I  find  no  war- 
rant in  Scripture;  and  the  admission,  expulsion,  and  discipline  of 
members  being  carried  on  without  the  presence  and  concurrence 
of  the  body  of  the  believers.  Not  that  all  are  officers  by  any 
means ;  the  exclusive  performance  of  these  duties  belongs  to  the 
proper  officers  whom  Christ  hath  appointed.  But  this  power  is  to 
be  exercised  in  the  body  and  not  out  of  it.     .     .     . 

Such  are  briefly  my  views  on  this  point,  and  from  all  that  is  past 
have  I  not  every  reason  to  believe  that  I  could  not  return  and 

1  This  was  the  germ  of  his  commentaries. 

2  For  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society. 

3  Mr.  Ebenezer  Sharpe. 


176  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

endeavor  to  have  the  church  modelled  on  these  principles  without 
tearing  it  to  pieces  ?  And  in  its  present  infant  state  would  it  be 
wisdom  or  duty  to  think  of  such  a  thing?  Let  me  say,  however,  I 
do  not  wish  to  set  up  entirely  another  church,  nor  would  my 
principles  lead  to  any  such  consequences  ;  but  all  I  wish  is  to 
keep  as  close  as  possible  to  the  New  Testament  model,  for  I 
should  then  feel  safest  and  have  most  hope  of  the  presence  and 
blessing  of  Christ.  And  I  have  learned  that  there  are  many 
churches  in  the  Presbyterian  connection  which  deviate  still  more 
widely  than  I  propose  from  the  authorized  platform.  I  submit 
these  views  of  the  matter  to  your  candid  and  Christian  considera- 
tion, and  as  I  began  by  saying  that  I  now  feel  somewhat  uncertain 
whether  I  shall  return  to  remain  permanently  in  Indiana,  I  wish, 
however,  to  hear  from  you  as  soon  as  practicable,  as  your  answer 
will  probably  govern  my  final  decision. 

On  receiving  a  reply  to  the  foregoing  Mr.  Bush  wrote, 
August  23,  1827,  from  Morristown  : 

I  am  willing  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  Presbytery  or  Syn»d.  Let 
either  of  these  bodies  be  selected  as  judges,  and  if  they  upon  a  fair 
representation  of  the  case  declare  that  I  cannot  act  conscientiously 
as  a  Presbyterian  pastor,  and  that  it  would  be  improper  and  unfa- 
vorable to  the  interests  of  religion  that  your  church  should  employ 
me,  I  will  submit  to  the  decision,  withdraw  from  the  connection, 
and  endeavor  to  serve  God  and  my  generation  some  other  way. 
.  .  .  On  mature  consideration  I  am  not  clear  that  my  opinions 
of  church  government  are  unequivocally  hostile  to  the  confession 
when  rightly  understood.  Therefore,  it  seems  to  me  that  so  long  as 
I  do  nothing  and  say  nothing  contrary  to  the  true  intent  of  the  ac- 
knowledged standards  of  the  church  I  ought  not  to  be  excluded  from 
a  post  of  usefulness  which  I  have  made  great  sacrifices  to  attain. 

Late  in  the  summer  Mr.  Bush  returned  to  Indiana. 
But  other  clouds  gathered  about  him.  Theological 
debate  was  for.  the  time  abruptly  closed,  and  all  hearts 
were  touched  with  sympathy  by  the  severe  illness  of  the 
pastor's  accomplished  and  amiable  wife.  On  the  ninth  of 
November  she  fell  asleep.      On  the  occasion  of  her  funeral^ 

1  Mrs.  Bush  lies  buried  in  Greenlawn  Cemetery,  Indianapolis.  The  following  is  the 
inscription  on  the  native  stone:     "  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Anna  B.  Bush,  con- 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  1 77 

the  Rev.  William  Lowry,  whose  lamented  death  in  the 
swollen  Whitewater  occurred  soon  after,  delivered  a  dis- 
course remarkable  for  its  beauty  and  power. 

The  conflict,  however,  of  a  mind  like  that  of  Mr.  Bush 
with  the  Presbyterian  system,  and  with  every  fixed  and 
rigorous  system,  was  inevitable.  Sorrow  might  interrupt 
the  debate,  but  it  could  not  solve  the  problem.  Indeed  it 
is  more  than  likely  that  the  wise  influence  of  Mrs.  Bush 
upon  her  husband  had  delayed  his  erratic  course  and 
prevented  a  much  earlier  divergence  from  the  old  paths.' 
At  any  rate,  events  were  rapidly  precipitated  after  the 
wife's  hand  had  been  withdrawn. 

On  the  25th  of  February,  1828,  Mr.  Bush  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  session  setting  forth  the  terms,  under  three 
particulars,  on  which  he  was  ' '  willing  to  live  and  if  it 
(should)  be  the  Lord's  will  to  die  among  the  people 
of  his  charge."  The  three  particulars  were:  (i)  that 
the  brethren  have  the  privilege  of  being  present  at  all 
meetings  of  the  session  ;  (2)  that  he  might  consider  him- 
self to  have  the  hearty  concurrence  of  the  session  in  his 
privilege  of  talking,  writing,  publishing,  or  preaching, 
relative  to  the  constitution,  laws,  and  order  of  the  church, 
whatever,  whenever,  wherever,  and  in  what  way  soever  he 
might  think  proper,  if  consistent  with  his  general  duty  to 
Christ ;  (3)  that  three  hundred  dollars  be  provided  annu- 
ally for  three  fourths  of  his  time,  and  as  much  more  be 
paid  him  as  might  be  raised. 

This  communication  was  succeeded  by  a  lengthy  and 
tedious  correspondence,  in  which  not  the  slightest  prog- 
ress was  made.  It  was  the  old  meeting  between  "two 
irresistible    forces" — a    mind  so    independent  that  it  first 

sort  of  the  Rev.  George  Bush,  and  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Lewis  Condict,  M.  C,  of 
Morristown,  New  Jersey.  She  died  strong  in  the  Christian  hope,  November  9th,  1827, 
aged  xxvii.     Precious  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints." 

1  The  hiding  of  Glass's  "  Works  "  from  her  husband  was  one  of  the  wifely  expedients 
recalled  by  an  Indianapolis  friend. 


1 78  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

imagined  chains  and  then  chafed  under  them,  and  a  half 
dozen  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Calvinists  representing  the 
venerable  and  symmetrical  system  of  our  church.  The 
congregation  was  finally  convened,  March  lo,  1828  ;  Dr. 
Coe  presented  an  elaborate  defense  of  Presbyterian  polity, 
and  after  considerable  discussion  and  an  adjournment  till 
evening,  application  was  made  to  Wabash  Presbytery  for  a 
dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation.  The  petition  was 
granted  at  a  special  meeting  at  IndianapoHs  June  22,  1828. 
Mr.  Bush  brought  the  subject  before  Synod  by  complaint, 
and  that  body,  with  but  two  dissenting  voices,  sustained 
the  Presbyterial  action,  at  the  same  time  declaring,  how- 
ever, that  said  action  ' '  should  not  be  understood  to  imply 
that  (Mr.  Bush's)  private  sentiments  are  so  heretical 
that  he  ought  to  be  disclaimed  by  the  Presbyterian  con- 
nection." ^  Synod  also  recommended  to  the  session  of 
the  church  to  "use  for  the  present  all  possible  forbear- 
ance" and  appointed  a  committee  to  visit  the  church  and 
promote  its  harmony.^  The  tenor  of  this  action  of  Synod 
induced  the  session  to  go,  by  complaint,  to  the  court 
of  last  resort.  Meanwhile  the  local  excitement  was  greatly 
promoted  by  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Bush  in  the  court- 
house to  a  separate  congregation  and  his  appointment  of  a 
stated  prayer-meeting  at  his  own  house,  after  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  pastoral  relation.  This  arrangement  continued 
until  March,  1829,  when  Mr.  Bush  finally  withdrew  and 
returned  East.^  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  he  ever 
transferred  his  connection  from  Wabash  to  any  other 
Presbytery  of  our  church. 

1  "  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  75-7. 

2"  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  83. 

3  The  Rev.  John  R.  Moreland  had  been  called  to  succeed  him  in  the  pastorate  October 
27,  1828.  Mr.  Moreland  had  spent  the  earlier  years  of  his  Ufe  as  a  boatman  on  the  Ohio, 
and  had  enjoyed  but  small  opportunities  to  obtain  an  education.  His  style  of  preaching 
was  somewhat  rough,  but  full  of  warmth  and  energy  and  often  productive  of  the  deepest 
impressions.     His  pastorate  was  terminated  by  his  death,  October  13,  1832. 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  I79 

On  the  29th  of  the  following  April  he  writes  from 
Cincinnati : 

You  perceive  by  my  date  that  I  am  still  in  this  city  of  "bustle, 
brick,  and  business."  I  have  concluded  to  make  an  effort  to 
get  my  books  into  circulation,  or  at  least  into  notice,  and  as  they 
are  not  yet  out  of  press,  I  shall  probably  be  compelled  to  remain 
here  till  the  latter  part  of  May.  In  the  mean  time,  in  order  to 
keep  straight  with  men  and  things,  and  not  grow  poor  myself 
while  aiming  to  make  others  rich,  I  have  embarked  for  a  few 
weeks  in  the  editorship  of  the  Pandect,  which  without  special 
efforts  will  not  live. 

Although  I  have  not  seen  Mr.  S.  I  am  in  hopes  to  get  him  to 
take  out  twenty-five  copies  of  my  pamphlet  on  "  Ezekiel's  Vision," 
which  I  will  thank  you  to  sell.    .     .     . 

Messrs.  Campbell  and  Owen  have  been  the  great  topics  of  talk 
recently.  The  two  disputants  have  been  seen,  within  a  day  or 
two,  walking  arm  in  arm  through  Main  Street,  so  that  the  in- 
ference is,  that  though  not  both  Harmonists,  they  are  still 
harmonious. 

At  the  opening  of  the  following  year  he  is  again  in  his 
old  haunts  at  Princeton,  and  writes  : 

When  we  last  met,  or  rather  when  we  last  parted,  I  had  little 
thought  that  my  next  communication  would  be  dated  Princeton, 
N.  J.  Yet  here  I  am,  the  wheel  of  providence  having  rolled  round 
and  landed  me  where  I  was  six  years  ago.  I  came  to  this  place 
about  three  months  since  with  the  design  of  spending  the  winter 
in  the  prosecution  of  scriptural  studies,  with  the  valuable  aid  of 
the  libraries  and  the  learned  society  here  to  be  enjoyed.  You  will 
probably  think  this  a  strange  movement,  yet  if  I  as  a  conscien- 
tious man  can  justify  it  to  myself,  and  be  fattening  in  this  green 
pasture  while  so  many  strayed  sheep  are  wandering  upon  the 
mountains,  you  of  course  will  be  satisfied.  I  confess  I  have  little 
hopes  of  making  my  steps  plausible,  and  not  any  great  anxiety  to 
do  it,  but  as  I  have  always  dealt  freely  and  candidly  with  you,  I 
will  say  that  it  is  purely  out  of  conscience  that  I  am  not  employed 
at  this  time  as  a  preacher  and  pastor.  I  can  no  more  act  in  the 
Presbyterian  connection  than  I  can  in  the  Roman  CathoHc.^  For 
my  soul  I  dare  not  do  it.     .     .     . 

1  It  will  be  seen  how  gradually  but  certainly  his  mind  had  drifted  from  his  earlier  be- 
liefs. This  was  1830.  In  1827  he  had  said:  "  I  am  not  clear  that  my  opinions  of  church 
government  are  unequivocally  hostile  to  the  confession  when  rightly  understood." 


l8o  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

God  has  graciously,  I  believe,  rewarded  the  stand  I  have  taken 
against  human  usurpations  with  giving  me  an  insight  into  his 
prophetic  oracles  that  is  most  enrapturing.  O  how  astonishingly 
have  my  vievv'S  of  heaven,  the  judgment,  the  resurrection,  altered 
in  two  years'  time.  Yet  the  world,  even  the  professing  world, 
cannot,  will  not,  receive  it,  and  I  shall  as  certainly  be  accounted  a 
dreaming  enthusiast  as  I  am  a  living  man.  .  .  It  will  finally  be 
beyond  dispute  that  in  the  great  fundamental  principles  of  my 
construction  of  the  word  of  God,  I  am  right.  No  thanks  to  me  ; 
for  I  acknowledge  sovereign  grace  in  every  step.  ...  I  am 
delivering  lectures  weekly  in  the  church  on  the  Apocalypse.  Dr. 
Alexander  attends  regularly — has  declared  himself  well  satisfied, 
and  even  more.  May  possibly  publish  hereafter.  ...  I  think 
much  of  Indiana,  and  should  be  happy  to  sit  down  at  your  table 
or  your  fireside,  but  am  only  able,  sitting  at  my  own,  to  assure 
you  of  the  continued  friendship  and  fellowship  of  your  brother  in 
the  gospel. 

In  1 83 1  Mr.  Bush  was  elected  to  the  professorship  of 
Hebrew  and  Oriental  Literature  in  the  University  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  and  thus  was  afforded  the  best  advan- 
tages for  prosecuting  those  investigations  for  which  his 
genius  and  learning  qualified  him.  His  first  important 
publication  was  the  "Life  of  Mohammed,"  which  ap- 
peared in  1832.  It  was  succeeded  the  year  after  by  a 
"Treatise  on  the  Millennium,"  and  subsequently  by 
"Scriptural  Illustrations."  *  In  1835  his  "Hebrew  Gram- 
mar" was  issued,  a  second  edition  having  been  called  for 
three  years  later.  The  publication  of  his  commentaries  on 
the  Old  Testament  was  commenced  in  1840.  The  Hiero- 
phant,  a  monthly  magazine,  began  its  career  in  1844.  The 
same  year  he  published  his  "Anastasis,"  replying  to  his 
critics  in  a  kindred  work  on  the  '  *  Resurrection  of  Christ. ' ' 

It  was  in  1845  that  Professor  Bush  openly  accepted  the 
doctrines  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  after  which  time  he 
devoted  himself  to  their  defense.  He  translated  Sweden- 
borg's  diary  from  the  Latin  ;  published  with  notes  others  of 

1  Harper's  Family  Library,  Vol.  X. 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  I»I 

his  writings ;  made  a  ' '  Statement  of  Reasons  for  joining 
the  New  Church,"  and  became  editor  of  the  New  Church 
Repository.  In  1847  he  pubUshed  a  work  on  ''Mesmer- 
ism," and  in  1857,  "Priesthood  and  Clergy  unknown  to 
Christianity."  Much  study  impaired  his  health  and  he 
died  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  September  19,  1859.  He  was 
at  the  time  pastor  of  a  small  Swedenborgian  congregation 
there. 

During  his  long  residence  in  New  York  City  his  Indiana 
friends  had  opportunities  to  renew  the  old  fellowship,  which 
he  welcomed  as  warmly  as  they.  He  also  for  a  long  time 
maintained  a  correspondence  with  some  of  them.  Two  of 
his  letters  of  that  period  so  fully  reveal  the  tendencies  of 
his  mind  and  the  kindliness  of  his  heart,  and  are  withal 
so  characteristically  expressed  that  they  have  more  than 
local  interest. 

New  York,  September  i,  1831. 

My  Dear  Friend:  After  a  long,  very  long  season  of  silence,  I 
propose  to  become  once  more  vocal,  or  at  least  significant,  and  to 
disturb  the  dormancy  of  speech ;  a  signal,  I  hope,  for  your  doing 
the  same  thing.  That  I  have  not  for  neariy  a  year  heard  by  letter 
the  least  syllable  of  news,  good  or  ill,  from  Indianapolis  I  attribute 
in  some  measure  to  my  own  neglect  ;  for  I  doubt  not  my  friends 
there  would  have  had  something  to  say  to  me  had  they  known 
where  to  direct,  or  been  at  all  certain  that  their  written  missives 
would  have  hit  the  mark.  It  has  indeed  so  happened  for  the  most 
part  during  the  last  two  years  and  a  half  that  my  mode  of  life  has 
been  as  unsettled  as  an  Arab's,  and  even  up  to  this  hour  I  must 
say  with  Paul,  "I  have  no  certain  dwelling-place."  My  anchor, 
however,  for  the  present  is  cast  in  this  haven  and  I  am  in  hopes 
not  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  weighing  it  again  for  a  long  time 
to  come.  At  any  rate  my  friends  may  be  sure  that  any  communi- 
cations addressed  to  this  place  will  safely  reach  their  destination. 

I  have  had  several  opportunities,  and  such  too  as  most  wander- 
ing Levites  would  consider  eligible,  to  fix  myself  in  a  permanent 
location  ;  but  there  has  almost  invariably  been  some  vexatious 
condition  about  them  that  grated  too  harshly  on  my  liberty-loving 
cords,  and  I  of  course  refused  them.     I  am  still  a  sworn  enemy  to 


1 82  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

conditions,  terms,  pledges,  vows,  promises — to  everything  in  fine 
that  fetters  the  exercise  of  the  most  unlimited  freedom  both  in 
opinion  and  action.  And  because  all  sects  in  religion  are  pester- 
ing the  world  with  these  miserable  nuisances,  I  am  an  anti- 
sectarian,  as  warm  a  one  as  Richard  Rush  is  an  anti-Mason  ;  and 
then,  lastly,  because  I  am  an  anti  of  this  description,  I  find  favor 
and  friendship  next  to  nowhere.  This  has  prevented  my  settle- 
ment. But  my  opinions  on  the  subject  of  religious  liberty  are 
fixed,  and  I  am  ready,  if  needs  be,  to  become  a  martyr  to  them.  I 
know  they  will,  they  must,  finally  prevail.  They  may  possibly  be 
permitted  to  starve  me  and  a  few  others  to  death  before  they 
eventually  triumph,  but  their  success  is  certain.  The  day  of 
human  creeds  is  drawing  toward  its  sunset,  to  be  followed  by  a 
long  bright  day  of  pure  Bible  law,  the  approach  of  which  all  good 
men  will  hail  from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts. 

But,  not  to  moralize,  my  present  location  is  extremely  pleasant. 
I  have  a  nook  monastic  in  the  lower  part  of  Greenwich  Street, 
near  the  Battery,  where  I  am  pretty  constantly  employed  ponder- 
ing my  polyglots  and  plying  my  pen.^  My  brother  is  an  inmate 
under  the  same  roof.  I  have  matters  forthcoming  of  which  the 
speaking  time  is  not  quite  arrived.  One  advantage  of  my  present 
residence  is  that  it  affords  me  the  opportunity  of  visiting  my  dear 
child  at  Morristown.     .     .     .     He  talks  a  great  deal   about  his 

1  This  picture  agrees  with  one  presented  by  the  Providence  Journal  soon  after  his 
decease,  and  referring  to  a  period  a  little  subsequent  to  the  above.  The  Jour7ial  says  : 
"  The  professor  was  twice  married,  the  second  time  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  when  his 
circumstances  were  somewhat  improved.  For  several  years  he  occupied  a  very  small 
room  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  story  of  a  building  on  the  comer  of  Beekman  and  Nassau 
Streets,  in  New  York,  the  walls  of  which  were  lined  with  old  books,  Hebrew,  Greek, 
Latin,  and  German  preponderating.  On  the  floor,  too,  were  piles  of  huge  volumes  in 
vellum — Bibles,  commentaries,  and  lexicons  in  the  oriental  languages.  A  pine  table, 
two  or  three  wooden  chairs,  a  small  stove  which  retained  its  place  the  year  round,  and  a 
cot  bed,  constituted  his  furniture.  For  years  neither  brush  nor  broom  disturbed  the 
accumulated  dust  of  this  secluded  retreat,  and  here  the  professor  wrote  those  transla- 
tions of  and  learned  commentaries  on  several  books  of  the  Old  Testament  which  have 
made  his  name  widely  known  among  theologians  of  Europe  and  America.  On  his 
second  marriage  this  sanctum  was  abandoned  and  he  removed  his  books  to  his  dwelling- 
house  in  Howard  Street,  where  he  lived  many  years.  Professor  Bush  was  particularly 
fond  of  attending  book  auctions.  It  gave  him  a  little  harmless  excitement,  brought  him 
in  contact  with  literary  men,  who,  like  himself,  were  ever  mousing  about  for  rare  and 
choice  books,  and  enabled  him  to  procure  the  books  he  wanted  at  low  prices.  Indeed 
it  may  be  said  that  nine  tenths  of  his  books  were  purchased  at  auction  ;  besides  as  there 
were  few  competitors  for  the  hterature  he  sought,  he  often  got  Latin,  Hebrew,  German, 
and  various  oriental  books  for  a  mere  song.  After  using  his  books  a  few  years,  and 
getting  from  them  all  he  required,  he  would  send  them  to  auction  to  make  way  for 
others." 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  183 

mother,  and  when  I  showed  him  a  ring  that  was  hers  he  kissed  it 
most  affectionately  two  or  three  times.     .     .     . 

I  wish  you  would  favor  me  with  a  letter  filled  full  of  all  manner 
of  news — personal,  domestical,  political,  theological,  statistical, 
topographical,  biographical,  and  so  on.  I  wish  to  know  how  your 
town  prospers  and  promises  and  what  important  changes  have 
taken  place  latterly  among  the  inhabitants,  such  of  them  as  I 
know. 

To  the  same  : 

New  York,  June  18,  1836. 

The  return  of  Mr.  Sullivan,  who  has  visited  me  several  times, 
•offers  an  opportunity  too  favorable  to  be  lost  of  at  least  sending 
a  greeting  of  friendship.  It  is  pleasant  thus  just  to  hail  each 
other,  while  sailing  in  our  respective  courses  on  the  ocean  of 
time,  and  gratefully  hear  the  "All's  well"  returned  from  either 
party.  May  we  ever  be  able  to  give  this  response  mutually 
while  voyaging  onward  to  our  final  haven,  and  then  have  it  ex- 
changed for  the  "  Well  done  "  of  our  Lord  and  master. 

.  .  .  I  am  still  mainly  employed  in  the  line  of  book-making, 
of  which  I  send  you  a  little  specimen.  My  works  have  never  as 
yet  been  very  popular  or  profitable,  but  on  the  whole  are  perhaps 
looking  up.  I  am  now  totis  in  illis  in  preparing  a  set  of  notes  on 
the  Old  Testament,  precisely  on  the  plan  of  Barnes  on  the  New. 
The  first  volume  will  probably  be  published  next  fall.  I  shall 
commence  with  Joshua  and  publish  on  the  Pentateuch  afterward. 

As  you  may  possibly  have  heard,  I  am  now  connected  as 
literary  editor  with  the  American  Bible  Society.  My  duties  are 
to  superintend  the  text  of  all  our  editions,  and  to  correspond 
with  foreign  translators.  The  work  is  pleasant  and  at  present 
•easy,  but  likely  to  become  laborious  by  and  by. 

.  .  .  I  am  yet  single,  but  not  despairing  of  duplication. 
But,  however  enumerated,  I  beg  you  to  set  me  down  as  your 
cordial  and  abiding  friend  and  brother  in  Christ. 

P.  S. — My  old  friend,  so  to  speak.  Dr.  C.  is  now  in  this  region 
and  visits  me  every  once  in  a  while,  probably  both  glad  of  an 
opportunity  to  exercise  toward  each  other  certain  Christian 
graces  that  would  no  doubt  have  lain  dormant  had  we  been 
otherwise  affected  toward  each  other  in  ancient  times. 

The  personal  allusion  in  the  last  sentence  discloses  a 
rare  gentleness  and  goodness — qualities  which  character- 


184  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ized  the  man  throughout  his  career.  From  the  brief 
account  of  it  one  may  readily  perceive  that  the  long  and 
warm  discussion  of  vital  questions  at  Indianapolis  had  on 
both  sides  been  conducted  with  an  uncommon  degree  of 
patience  and  charity.  Both  parties  were  determined  and 
conscientious.  The  young  pastor  was  born  to  seek  out 
new  ways  ;  his  session  was  predestined  to  love  remorse- 
lessly the  old  paths.  They  could  not  be  harmonized.  It 
is  not  often  that  such  a  conflict  is  closed  with  so  successful 
a  defense  of  the  public  interests  and  so  small  and  so  tran- 
sient an  injury  to  private  character  and  personal  friend- 
ship. Those  who  knew  Professor  Bush  in  the  early  days 
of  battle  will  cordially  unite  in  bearing  testimony  to  "the 
extent  and  variety  of  his  learning,  his  rare  courage,  the 
unpretending  simplicity  and  the  kindness  of  his  manners, 
his  fervent  and  trustful  piety.  "^  In  his  odd  story  of 
Indiana  life  Professor  Hall  introduces  Mr.  Bush  as  "Bishop 
Shrub,"  and  describes  with  the  warmth  of  friendship 
these  same  characteristics."  "I  never  saw  him  but  once, 
within  my  recollection,"  writes  another  whose  parents 
knew  and  loved  him  well  ;  ' '  that  was  in  New  York  City, 
when  he  made  a  long  and  affectionate  call  upon  my  father. 
He  was  a  delightful  talker,  and,  I  suppose,  in  all  his  feel- 
ings, and  in  his  treatment  of  others,  a  gentle,  Christ-like 
man." 

A  volume  of  "Memoirs  and  Reminiscences  of  the  late 
Professor  George  Bush"  was  published  in  Boston  the 
year  after  his  decease. 

Baynard  Rush  Hall  was  the  son  of  Dr.  John  Hall,  an 
eminent  surgeon  ^  in  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Hall  was  a  man  of 
wealth.  He  died,  however,  when  the  son  was  but  four 
years  of  age,    and  the   property,    except   a  small  portion 

1  Griswold's  "  Prose  Writers  of  America,"  p.  356. 

2  "  The  New  Purchase,"  p.  224. 

3  The  father's  profession  and  residence  readily  explain  the  son"s  middle  name. 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  185 

•of  it,  never  came  into  the  possession  of  the  rightful  heir.' 
The  latter  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  in  1798,  and  com- 
menced his  collegiate  studies  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
completing  them,  however,  at  Union  College,  New  York, 
from  which  institution  he  graduated  with  honor  in  the 
•class  of  1820.  His  friends  wished  him  to  study  law,  but 
his  own  inclination  was  for  the  ministry  and  he  entered  the 
seminary  at  Princeton  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  On 
leaving  the  seminary,  having  received  licensure  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,^  he  set  out  for  the  West. 

He  had  married  several  years  before,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two,  a  lady  whom  he  had  formerly  known  in  Phila- 
delphia and  whose  family  had  removed  to  Danville,  Ky.  ^ 
From  his  own  chatty  pen,  through  a  thin  veil  of  fiction,  we 
are  led  to  the  substantial  truth  as  to  his  settlement  in 
Indiana. 

It  was  mere  accident  that  turned  our  folks  to  their  location 
in  the  New  Purchase.  The  Seymours  at  the  close  of  the  last  war 
with  Great  Britain  resided  in  Philadelphia.  Like  others  they 
risked  their  capital  during  the  war  in  manufactories ;  and  like 
others,  when  peace  was  proclaimed  the  Seymours  were  ruined. 
John  Seymour,  familiarly  known  among  us  as  Uncle  John,  on 
his  arrival  from  the  South,  where,  during  a  residence  of  many 
years,  he  had  acquired  a  handsome  fortune,  found  his  sisters,  Mrs. 
Glenville  and  Mrs.  Littleton,  in  great  distress,  their  husbands 
being  recently  dead ;  and  having  not  long  before  his  return  buried 
his  wife,  who  had,  however,  borne  him  no  children,  he  im- 
mediately took  under  his  protection  the  two  widowed  ladies, 
his  sisters,  together  with  the  four  children  of  Mrs.  Glenville. 
Fearing  his  means  were  not  sufficient  to  sustain  the  burden 
providentially  cast  upon  him,  at  least  in  the  way  that  was 
desirable,  he  resolved  to  remove  to  Kentucky.  Accordingly 
the  new-organized  family  all  removed  to  the  West,  with  the 
exception  of  Miss  Eliza  Glenville,  who  was  left  to  complete 
her  education  with  the  excellent  and  justly  celebrated  Mr.  Jandon. 

1  Index  volume  of  the  Priticeton  Review. 

2  Dickey's  "  Brief  History,"  p.  16. 

3  Reed's  "  Christian  Traveller,''  p.  m. 


l86  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

With  this  amiable  and  interesting  creature,  the  young  lady,  Mr. 
Carlton,  who  somehow  or  other  always  had  a  taste  for  sweet  and 
beautiful  faces,  became  acquainted  .  .  .  and  was  married.  It 
had  been  part  of  the  arrangement  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carlton 
should  join  the  family  in  Kentucky,  and  that  we  should  establish 
a  boarding-school  for  young  ladies ;  but  now  came  a  letter  from 
John  Glenville,  that  Uncle  John,  unfortunate,  not  in  selling  a  very 
valuable  property  at  a  fair  price,  but  in  receiving  that  price  in 
worthless  notes  of  Kentucky  banks,  which,  like  most  banks, 
every  twenty  or  thirty  years  had  failed,  had  with  his  remaining 
funds,  as  his  only  resort,  bought  a  tract  of  government  lands  in 
the  New  Purchase ;  and  that,  if  I  could  join  him,  with  a  few 
hundred  dollars,  in  a  little  tanning,  store-keeping,  and  honest 
speculation,  we  might  gain,  if  not  riches,  at  least  independence. 
He  added  that  rnaybe  something  could  be  done  in  the  school 
line.^ 

Thus  allured  to  "Glenville,"  a  little  settlement  not  far 
from  the  present  Gosport,  Mr.  Hall  became,  early  in  1825, 
the  principal  of  the  State  Seminary,  located  in  1820  upon 
the  state  lands  adjoining  the  town  of  Bloomington,  which 
were  now  for  the  first  time  opened.      He  saj^s  : 

Nearly  south  of  Glenville  was  the  grand  town — our  Woodville.- 
And  nearly  west,  some  eight  or  nine  miles  and  a  piece,  was  Spice- 
burg,^  at  least  in  dry  times,  for  the  town  being  on  the  bottom  of 
Shining  River  was,  in  hard  rains,  commonly  under  water,  so  that 
a  conscientious  man  dared  not  then  to  affirm,  without  a  proviso, 
where  Spiceburg  was  precisely.  Northeast  from  us,  some  fifty 
long  lonesome  miles,  was  the  capital  of  the  state,  Timberopolis,* 
the  seat  of  the  legislature  and  of  mortality.  *  South  of  Wood- 
ville  and  in  the  very  edge  of  the  forest  were  at  this  time  two  un- 
finished brick  buildings,  destined  for  the  use  of  the  future  univer- 
sity. As  we  passed  to-day  in  our  vehicle  the  smaller  house  was 
crammed  with  somebody's  hay  and  flax,  while   the   larger   was 

1  Hall's  "  New  Purchase,"  pp.  84-6. 

2  Bloomington. 

3  Spencer. 

4  Indianapolis. 

6  "New  Purchase,"  p.  83.  It  is  considerately  added  concerning  "  Timberopolis  " 
that  "  death  in  later  times  there  domineered  less." 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  187 

pouring  forth  a  flock  of  sheep— a  very  curious  form  in  which  to 
issue  college  parchments.^ 

In  connection  with  the  care  of  the  school  at  Bloomington 
Mr.  Hall  at  once  undertook  the  labors  of  the  pulpit. 
Having  been  received  by  Salem  Presbytery,  in  March, 
1825,  he  was  ordained  and  installed  over  the  Bloomington 
society  the  month  following.  "^  Though  this  relation  was 
dissolved  one  year  later  he  continued  to  preach  to  the  con- 
gregation until  early  in  1830.  Meanwhile  the  young 
State  Seminary  had  got  into  stormy  seas,  the  rivalries  of 
political  parties  and  ecclesiastical  sects  seriously  threaten- 
ing its  existence.  In  the  effort  to  establish  it  upon  a  colle- 
giate basis  it  was  thought  necessary  to  distribute  the 
professorships  among  the  combatants,  and  Mr.  Hall 
retired.  He  had  certainly  not  been  "the  very  first  man 
since  the  creation  of  the  world  that  read  Greek  in  the  New 
Purchase,"  '  though  he  had  no  doubt  been  one  of  the  best 
classical  scholars  there.  His  experience  as  a  teacher  had 
also  prepared  him  for  the  profession  which  he  was  to  prose- 
cute during  nearly  all  of  his  later  life. 

Leaving  Indiana  in  1831,  he  became  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Bedford,  Pa.,  the  following  year,  where  he 
remained,   at   the    same   time    conducting  a  school,   until 

1  "  New  Purchase,"  p.  68.  This,  and  other  "New  Purchase"  descriptions,  intended 
as  suggestions  of  the  small  and  rude  beginnings  of  that  day,  must  be  taken,  so  far  as  the 
details  are  concerned,  "  with  a  grain  of  salt." 

2  In  this  year  there  were  six  ordinations  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Indiana. 
"  Four  of  these  I  attended  and  took  a  part  in  them,"  says  the  Rev.  Isaac  Reed. 
("Christian  Traveller,"  p.  146.)  "At  the  first,  which  was  the  installation  of  the  Rev. 
George  Bush  at  Indianapolis  as  moderator,  I  gave  out  the  appointments  to  the  others, 
and  look  the  address  to  the  congregation  on  myself.  At  the  second,  which  was  this  at 
Bloomington,  I  preached  the  sermon.  At  the  next,  the  ordination  of  the  Rev.  Alexan- 
der Williamson  as  evangelist,  I  was  not  present.  At  the  fourth,  the  settlement  of  the 
Rev.  Tilly  H.  Brown  over  the  Bethlehem  church,  I  preached  the  sermon.  At  the  fifth, 
the  ordination  of  Rev.  Stephen  Bliss,  which  took  place  at  Vincennes,  I  gave  the  charge 
to  the  evangelist." 

8  See  "  New  Purchase,"  p.  153.  He  could  justly  claim  the  distinction  of  bringing  the 
first  piano  to  Bloomington. 


l88  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

1838.*  He  then  became  successively  the  principal  of 
academies  at  Bordentown  and  Trenton,  N.  J.  (at  the  latter 
place  also  having  charge  of  the  recently  organized  Second 
Church^),  and  at  Poughkeepsie  and  Newburgh,  N.  Y., 
and  in  1852  removed  to  Brooklyn  and  became  principal  of 
the  Park  Institute.^  The  last  few  years  of  his  life  he  spent 
in  preaching  to  the  poor,  a  portion  of  the  time  under  the 
direction  of  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church.  He  died 
January  23,  1863,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery  of 
the  Evergreens,  a  beautiful  spot  two  or  three  miles  east  of 
Brooklyn,  and  overlooking  the  bay.  He  left  a  widow  and 
two  children  in  destitute  circumstances,  but  three  years 
after  the  last  member  of  his  family  followed  him.  None  of 
his  near  relatives  survive. 

In  1842  the  degree  of  A.  M.  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  1848  the  degree  of  D.D. 
by  Rutgers  College.  His  first  publication  was  a  "  New  and 
Compendious  Latin  Grammar."  In  1842  an  article  from 
his  pen  on  "Theories  of  Education"  appeared  in  the 
Princeton  Review.  Twelve  years  after  leaving  Indiana  he 
published  ' '  The  New  Purchase,  or  Life  in  the  Far  West ' ' 
and  ' '  Something  for  Everybody. ' '  The  following  year, 
in  1847,  "Teaching,  a  Science;  the  Teacher  an  Artist," 
and  "Frank  Freeman's  Barber  Shop"  appeared.  His 
cliosophic  address  at  Princeton  in  1852  was  printed.^  His 
writings  were  not  unsuccessful.  "The  New  Purchase,"  a 
story  founded  on  his  experience  in  Indiana,  reached  a 
third  revised  edition  in  1855,  its  two  volumes  in  one.  The 
book  has  many  readers  still,  especially  in  the  region  where 
its  amusing  scenes   are  laid.^       Extracts   from   it  already 

1  Gillett's  "  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  494. 

2  See  Dr.  John  Hall's  "  History  of  the  First  Church  in  Trenton,"  p.  118. 

3  See  index  volume  of  the  Princeton  Review. 

4  Dr.  John  Hall's  "  History  of  the  First  Church  in  Trenton,"  p.  118. 

5  An  intelligent  reader  will  easily  detect  some  of  the  localities  and  characters  partially 
obscured  by  their  ?ioms  de  plume.    Perhaps,  however,  a  glossary  will  be  welcomed.    The 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON.  1 89 

quoted  will  sufficiently  indicate  its  style.  Too  diffuse  and 
familiar,  it  still  has  elements  of  strength.  The  narrative  is 
often  racy,  and  sometimes  admirably  preserves  the  ver- 
nacular of  the  region  and  the  time.  There  was  a  degree 
of  offensive  personality  in  the  first  edition  which  did  not 
multiply  the  author's  friends  among  those  at  all  sensitive 
to  sarcasm.  This  feature  of  the  book  was  removed  from 
the  revised  issue  and  we  may  all  thank  the  lively  pen, 
never  dipped  in  gall,  for  its  familiar  trifling  with  our 
household  gods. 

During  his  residence  in  Brooklyn  Dr.  Hall  occasionally 
ventured  into  the  lecture  field,  and  with  success.  In 
these  efforts,  as  in  his  writings,  wit  sometimes  had  too 
sharp  an  edge.  The  "hits  were  admirable,"  but  cut  too 
deep.  "In  his  long  struggle  with  poverty,  finding  him- 
self distanced  in  the  race  of  life  by  many  who  were  greatly 
his  inferiors,  both  in  mental  power  and  intellectual  attain- 
ments, it  is  no  wonder  that  he  sometimes  gave  way  to 
melancholy  and  permitted  a  bitter  tone."^  He  had  lost 
his  father  in  early  childhood,  and  thus  was  deprived  of  a 
friendship  admirably  suited  to  help  and  educate  a  boy. 
His  considerable  patrimony  he  had  not  been  permitted  to 
receive  and  enjoy.  By  nature  well  endowed  and  in  the 
best  schools  thoroughly  trained,  his  refined  faculties  found 
his  circumstances  discordant.  The  high  but  wearisome 
task  of  the  schoolmaster,  even  when  joined  to  ministerial 
work,    failed    to    yield    a   sufficient    support,    and    he    was 

Carlton  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clarence,  of  the  book,  are  the  author  ;  Rev.  James  Hilsbury  is 
Rev.  Isaac  Reed ;  Dr.  Bloduplex,  Dr. Wiley ;  Rev.  Mr.  Shrub,  Rev.  George  Bush ;  Wood- 
ville,  Bloomington ;  Spiceburg,  Spencer;  Sugartown,  Crawf  ordsville  ;  Sproutsburg, 
La  Fayette;  Timberopolis,  Indianapolis;  Big  Shiney,  White  River;  Slippery  River, 
Eel  River.  Mrs.  Glenville,  Chap.  XXXII. ,  is  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Hall,  Mrs.  Isaac 
Reed,  and  "  John  Glenville  " ;  Dr.  Sylvan  is  Dr.  Maxwell;  and  the  leader  of  the  party 
described  in  Chap.  XLIV.  is  Williamson  Dunn,  father  of  the  Hon.  McKee  Dunn. 
Harwood  is  Harvey,  at  his  death,  a  few  years  since,  editor  of  the  LouisviUe  Detiiocrat. 
Lawyer  Cutswell  afterward  became  Governor  Whitcomb. 

1  MSS.  of  the  Rev.  J.   Edson  Rockwell,  D.D.,  who  kindly  communicated  the  facts 
of  Dr.  Hall's  later  life. 


igO  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

forced  to  frequent  removals.  It  was  a  long  struggle  for 
bread,  most  honorably  maintained  by  one  who  doubtless 
reflected  that  he  had  been  wronged,  and  that  his  wife  and 
his  children  were  suffering  needlessly.  We  must  grate- 
fully remember  the  man  who  in  his  earliest  enthusiasm  so 
gaily  bore  for  us  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  in  the  ' '  Cottage 
of  Peace"  with  "Bishop  Hilsbury,"  and  at  "Timberop- 
olis"  with  the  "Rev.  Mr.  Shrub,"  showed  qualities  so 
genial,  generous,  and  strong. 

By  one  who  saw  him  at  Bloomington  in  the  winter  of 
1 830-1  ^  he  is  remembered  as  "  a  short,  heavily-built  man, 
with  long,  light  hair."  The  lithograph  prefixed  to  his 
principal  book,  and  representing  him  as  he  was  twenty 
years  later,  shows  a  noble,  finely-chiseled  face,  marked 
deeply  with  lines  of  sorrow.  In  the  portrait  the  story  of 
his  life  is  accurately  told. 

Alexander  Williamson  was  born  in  Cumberland 
County,  Pa.,  September  17,  1797.  He  graduated  from 
Jefferson  College,  Cannonsburg,  in  18 18.  Having  entered 
Washington  College  early  in  1816,  he  was  there  converted 
under  the  ministry  of  Dr.  M.  Brown,  but  afterward  became 
a  student  at  Jefferson.  He  studied  theology  at  Princeton 
and  graduated  in  the  class  of  1822.  Licensed  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  on  account  of  delicate  health  he 
accepted  a  missionary  appointment  for  two  years  in  Missis- 
sippi. Thence  he  came  to  Indiana,  settling  at  Corydon, 
and  after  eight  or  nine  years  removing  to  Delphi,  Carroll 
County,  and  to  Monticello,  White  County.  In  these  fields 
he  remained  for  ten  years,  when,  his  health  and  his  mind 
becoming  impaired,  he  removed  to  Corydon,  about  two 
years  before  his  death,  which  occurred  July  14,  1849. 
For  some  years  he  was  able  to  do  but  little  in  the  ministry, 
but,    though  he   took  gloomy  views   of  himself,   he  was, 

1  The  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Little. 


HELP    FROM    PRINCETON. 


191 


says  Dr.  C.  C.  Beatty,  his  classmate  at  Princeton,    "emi- 
nently a  man  of  God." 

At  the  meeting  of  Synod,  Indianapolis,  September, 
1849,  formal  record  was  made  of  his  fidelity.  "No 
ordinary  cause,"  says  the  memorial,  "would  prevent  him 
from  fulfilling  his  appointments,  however  distant,  and  it  is 
believed  that  the  exposure  he  thus  endured  brought  on 
the  disease  which  disabled  him  and  finally  terminated  his 
life.  ...  He  was  eminently  a  man  of  prayer.  His  delight 
was  in  the  law  of  the  Lord." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Two  Fellow-Travelers. 
1824. 

Of  the  Princeton  quintet  referred  to  in  the  previous 
chapter,  Young  and  Johnston  made  the  journey  westward 
in  company.  The  latter  Hved  to  a  good  old  age,  enduring 
half  a  century  of  most  honorable  toil.  His  friend,  smitten 
by  the  poisonous  fogs  of  the  Wabash,  scarcely  survived  to 
complete  the  brief  term  of  his  first  commission. 

John  Young  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life  in  Spring- 
field, Otsego  County,  N.  Y. ,  graduated  from  Union  College 
in  1 82 1,  and  studied  divinity  at  Princeton.  He  came 
West  in  1824,  reaching  Madison,  Ind.,  December  9.  His 
commission,  from  the  Assembly's  Committee  of  Missions, 
was  for  six  months.  Remaining  in  Madison  eight  weeks, 
he  supplied  the  vacant  pulpit  there.  He  was  present  at 
the  ordination  of  Mr.  Bush  at  Indianapolis,  March  5,  1825.' 
After  a  few  weeks'  labor  along  the  White  River  in  the 
vicinity  of  Indianapolis  he  went  to  the  Wabash.  He  was 
at  the  meeting  of  Presbytery  in  April  at  Washington. 
Crossing  into  Illinois,  he  gave  most  of  his  time  until  July 
15  to  the  congregation  of  Paris,  Edgar  County,  and  New 
Hope,  partly  in  Vigo  County,  Ind.,  and  partly  in  Clark 
County,  111.  The  term  for  which  he  had  been  commis- 
sioned had  already  expired  and  he  had  turned  toward 
home.  Arriving  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  S.  T.  Scott, 
near  Vincennes,  he  delayed  his  journey  eastward  in  order 

1  See  "  A  Funeral  Sermon,  occasioned  by  the  early  death  of  Mr.  John  Young  .  .  . 
by  Isaac  Reed,  A.  M.,  Indianapolis,  printed  by  Douglass  and  Maguire."  Cf.  "Christian 
Traveller,"  pp.  149,  150,  209,  210. 

192 


TWO    FELLOW-TRAVELERS.  1 93 

to  attend  the  third  anniversary  of  the  Indiana  Missionary 
Society.  On  the  2d  of  August  he  preached  at  Princeton 
what  proved  to  be  his  last  sermon.  He  was  at  that  time 
suffering  from  iHness.  Returning  on  the  3d  to  Vincennes, 
symptoms  of  fever  appeared,  but  on  the  two  following 
days  he  was  able  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Presbytery 
and  the  Missionary  Society.  On  the  latter  occasion  he  ad- 
dressed the  assembly  with  singular  solemnity.  But  he  soon 
withdrew  to  the  house  of  a  good  physician  of  the  town, 
and  lying  down,  sank  steadily  until  near  midnight,  August 
15,  when  he  died.  He  had  expected  soon  to  be  in  the 
home  of  his  childhood  again,  but  another  welcome  was 
prepared  for  him.  His  little  property  he  bequeathed  to 
the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of  New  York,  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society,  and  the  Tract  Society.^ 

Mr.  Young  was  small  in  stature,  of  a  well-formed  person 
and  fine  countenance.  His  manners  were  grave.  He 
was  "a  man  of  ardent  piety  and  earnest  zeal."  ^  In  the 
churches  of  Paris  and  New  Hope  he  was  greatly  loved.  ^ 
"He  did  much  in  little  time."  His  early  death  caused 
"great  lamentation,"  and  especially  grieved  the  little 
company  of  Princeton  fellow-students^  who  had  chosen  the 
same  field  of  labor.      Baynard  R.  Hall'  says  : 

We  visited  the  grave  of  a  young  man  who,  unavoidably  exposed 
to  a  fatal  illness  in  discharging  his  missionary  duties,  had  died  at 
Vincennes  in  early  manhood  and  far  away  from  his  home.  Deep 
solemnity  was  in  the  little  company  of  his  classmates  as  they  stood 
gazing  where  rested  the  remains  of  the  youthful  hero.  Dear 
young  man,  his  warfare  was  soon  ended,  and  there  he  lay  among 
the  silent  ones  in  the  scented  meadow-land  of  the  far  West. 

A  faded    letter  of    Mr.  Young's,    dated    "Washington, 

1  Letter  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  T.  Scott  in  Reed's  "  Funeral  Discourse,"  p.  12. 

2  Johnston's  "  Forty  Years  in  Indiana,"  p.  28. 

3  See  Ifidiana  Journal  oi  September  6,  1825. 

4  Bush,  Hall,  Williamson,  Johnston. 

5  "  New  Purchase,"  p.  280. 


,194  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

April  9,  1825,"    contains   the   following  references  to   his 
work  in  Indiana  : 

You  will  perhaps  have  some  curiosity  to  know  where  I  have 
been  and  what  doing  since  I  saw  you.  (i)  I  have  been  in 
Indiana,  in  the  mud,  in  log  cabins,  in  the  woods.  (2)  After  you 
left  me  at  Indianapolis  I  took  a  tour  up  White  River  and  preached 
one  Sabbath  at  a  Mr.  Mallory's.  Visited  the  falls  of  Fall  Creek. ^ 
Preached  one  sermon  in  the  prison  of  that  place.  I  spent  some 
time  conversing  with  those  poor  unhappy  murderers."  Found 
them  free  to  converse.  The  two  old  men  are  from  all  accounts 
bad.  The  young  man  appears  truly  penitent.  He  frankly  con- 
fesses the  whole  transaction.  .  .  ,  After  visiting  these  unhappy 
wretches  I  returned  to  Indianapolis  ;  spent  one  Sabbath  there  ; 
then  left  for  Illinois.  From  Indianapolis  to  the  Wabash  I  had  a 
rather  gloomy,  unpleasant  time.  The  greater  part  of  the  way  is 
woods. 

James  Harvey  Johnston  was  of  goodly  parentage. 
His  grandfather,  the  Rev.  William  Johnston,  was  born  in 
Dublin,  Ireland,  in  17 13.  He  had  received  a  thorough 
education  at  Edinburgh  University,  spending  four  years  in 
the  literary  and  three  in  the  theological  department.  ^  He 
came  to  this  country  when  a  young  man  and  married  Miss 
Cummins,  an  English  lady  of  education  and  rare  accom- 
plishments. She  was  annually  in  receipt  of  ^150  from 
England,  which  after  the  Revolution,  however,  was  not 
transmitted.  "Dominie"  Johnston,  having  previously 
resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Albany  and  Schenectady  and  at 
Curry's  Bush''  and  Warren's  Bush,  settled  in  Sidney 
Plains,  N,  Y.,  arriving  there  May  10,  1772.  He  was  the 
pioneer  of  that  town.  He  came  on  foot,  with  his  son 
Witter,  subsequently  known  as  Colonel  Johnston,  driving 
a  cow  from  the  neighborhood  of  Cherry  Valley.  The  son 
remained  during  the  winter,   his   father  returning   in  the 

1  Now  Pendleton. 

2  Cf.  Oliver  H.  Smith's  "  Indiana  Trials,"  pp.  51-3. 

3  See  "  The  Sidney  Centennial  Jubilee,"  p.  28. 

4  Now  Florida,  Montgomery  County,  N.  Y. 


TWO    FELLOW-TRAVELERS.  195 

autumn  to  Curry's  Bush  for  the  remainder  of  the  family, 
who  reached  Sidney  Plains  the  following  June.  A  tract  of 
land  consisting  of  520  acres  was  secured,  and  upon  this 
homestead  the  Johnstons  enjoyed  comparative  quiet  until 
November  11,  1778,  when  occurred  the  fatal  Cherry 
Valley  massacre  under  Captain  Walter  Butler  and  the 
Mohawk  Indian,  Brandt.  The  family,  warned  by 
"Hughy,"  the  younger  son,  escaped  only  to  see  their 
house  in  flames.  They  fled  to  the  vicinity  of  their  former 
residence,  where  they  remained  until  after  the  war.  The 
"Dominie,"  who  died  in  1783,  never  returned  to  his 
estate. 

Colonel  Witter,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  con- 
tinued in  the  service  of  the  colonies  until  peace  was 
secured,  when  he  returned  to  Sidney  Plains  and  success- 
fully sought  from  the  legislature  a  tide  to  the  homestead, 
the  former  title  having  been  found  worthless  and  the  whole 
property,  really  held  by  a  loyalist,  having  been  confiscated. 
Colonel  Johnston  was  a  man  of  great  force  of  character, 
though  not  possessed  of  a  robust  frame  or  vigorous  consti- 
tution. While  an  officer  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution 
his  pay  was  the  chief  support  of  the  family.  In  later  life, 
when  in  prosperous  circumstances,  he  was  accustomed  to 
lead  in  all  public  enterprises.  His  firmness  and  self- 
reliance  were  characteristic.  He  died  in  October,  1839, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-six. 

James  Harvey  Johnston  was  born  at  Sidney  Plains, 
October  14,  1798.  When  about  fourteen  years  of  age 
he  heard  his  pastor  preach  on  "the  unpardonable  sin," 
and  such  was  the  impression  the  sermon  made  upon 
him  that  he  could  not  study  and  in  the  schoolroom 
was  continually  weeping.  The  teacher,  a  woman,  sent 
him  home,  advising  him  to  make  his  case  known  to  his 
mother.  It  is  probable  that  then,  under  his  mother's 
sympathy  and  instruction,   the  life  of  faith  began. 


196  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

It  was  the  wish  of  his  mother  that  he  should  have 
an  education,  and  his  studies  were  now  directed  to  prepare 
him  for  a  collegiate  course.  Before  he  had  reached  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  taught  school  at  Unadilla  to  obtain 
means  to  prosecute  his  studies,  and  in  18 16  he  entered  the 
freshman  class  at  Hamilton  College.  Albert  Barnes  was 
his  classmate,  and  remained  through  life  a  warm  friend.' 
Mr.  Johnston  graduated  in  1820,  with  the  first  honors 
of  his  class.  Having  spent  a  year  in  teaching  at  Utica  he 
went  to  Princeton  Seminary,  and  there  completed  the 
course  in  divinity.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  last  year  at  the  seminary,  and  concerning  that 
event  the  following  entry  in  his  diary  appears,  under  the 
date  October  24,  1823  : 

I  last  week  attended  the  Columbia  Presb^'tery,  to  which  I  had 
previously  attached  myself,  and  having  sustained  the  examina- 
tions, and  passed  through  the  trials  required,  was  only  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel.  My  licensure  took  place  on  the  14th  day  of 
this  month,  my  birthday,  I  having  on  that  day  completed  my  25th 
year.  In  this  entering  upon  the  high  and  holy  work  of  the  gospel 
ministry  I  trust  my  mind  has  been  in  some  measure  impressed 
with  a  sense  of  its  importance.  .  .  .  May  I  never  be  guilty  of 
doing  the  work  of  the  Lord  deceitfully.  May  I  never  neglect 
or  abandon  it.  As  I  hope  that  this  work  has  not  been  undertaken 
from  mere  worldly  motives,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  tempo- 
ral support,  I  pray  God  that  in  prosecuting  it  my  aim  and  my 
conduct  may  never  become  mercenary.  Though  the  laborer 
is  worthy  of  his  hire  this  direction  is  given  to  govern  those 
to  whom  the  gospel  is  preached,  rather  than  to  be  insisted  on  by 
preachers  themselves.  My  motto  should  be,  "  A  necessity  is  laid 
upon  me ;  yea,  woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel  wherever 
providence  may  call  me." 

The  diary  continues : 
Princeton,  July  /,  1824.     The  time  allotted  to  my  theological 

1  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Barnes  Mr.  Johnston  preached,  February  26,  1871,  in  the 
Centre  Church,  Crawfordsville,  Ind.,  a  memorial  discourse,  containing  extracts  from  a 
long  correspondence.  It  forms  a  beautiful  and  just  tribute  to  his  distinguished  friend. 
The  sermon  was  published,  Philadelphia,  1874. 


TWO    FELLOW-TRAVELERS.  197 

course  is  rapidly  drawing  to  a  close.  I  have  now  entered  upon 
the  last  session  at  this  seminary.  The  last  two  months  have  been 
spent  on  a  missionary  tour.  My  field  of  labor  was  in  Montgomery 
and  Albany  Counties  in  New  York.  I  preached  almost  daily  and 
was  constantly  employed  in  visiting  from  house  to  house.  As  op- 
portunities presented  did  all  in  my  power  to  promote  Sabbath- 
schools.  My  traveling,  during  the  tour,  which  would  average 
from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  per  day,  I  performed  on  foot.  This  tour 
was  to  me  a  very  interesting  one.  Took  much  satisfaction  in  dis- 
charging the  duties  incumbent  upon  me.  Saw  much  to  convince 
me  of  the  need  of  missionary  labor  in  the  region  which  I  visited. 
The  means  enjoyed  by  the  people  limited ;  ignorance  great ;  errors 
abounding  ;  vices  prevailing.  Was  treated  with  much  kindness 
and  with  much  respect  for  my  work's  sake.  A  pleasing  attention 
was  generally  manifested  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word.  One  or 
two  hopeful  conversions  under  my  preaching.  Was  solicited  to 
remain  in  two  different  places.  In  either  place  my  station  would 
have  been  obscure  and  my  sphere  limited,  but  I  felt  willing  to 
remain  if  it  appeared  to  be  God's  will. 

Sidney  Plains,  October  28.  God  has  mercifully  restored  me 
once  more  to  my  father's  family,  but  it  is  in  circumstances  differ- 
ent from  any  in  which  I  formerly  visited  home.  I  am  this  day  to 
bid  adieu  to  my  friends  and  direct  my  course  to  the  far  distant 
West.  Previous  to  leaving  Princeton  I  thought  it  my  duty,  after 
much  prayerful  deliberation,  to  take  a  mission  for  the  state  of 
Indiana.  An  engagement  to  spend  a  year  in  that  state  as  a  mis- 
sionary was  entered  into,  with  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of 
New  York,  before  I  reached  home.  Some  intimation  of  such  an 
intention  had  some  weeks  before  been  given  to  my  friends  at 
home  in  a  letter,  but  no  explicit  avowal  had  been  made  till  after 
my  commission  had  been  obtained. 

On  arriving  at  home  and  declaring  my  purpose  my  father  and 
other  friends  opposed  me.  They  had  expected  me  to  settle  nearer 
them.  They  cannot  even  now  be  convinced  that  duty  requires 
me  to  move  so  far.  Their  opposition  renders  the  trial  of  parting 
still  more  severe,  but,  happy  as  I  should  be  to  comply  with  their 
wishes  could  I  consistently  do  it,  my  views  of  duty  remain  un- 
changed. The  wants  of  the  church  and  the  prospects  of  useful- 
ness In  the  region  assigned  me  by  my  commission  I  believe  to 
be  greater  than  in  the  vicinity  of  this  place,  or  anywhere  in  my 
native  state.  It  appears  clear  to  me,  notwithstanding  the  argu- 
ments  which   my   friends  have  used   and   the  wishes  they  have 


igo  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

expressed,  that  I  ought  to  go  to  the  field  which  I  have  engaged  to 
visit.  This  is  the  day  appointed  for  my  departure.  The  separa- 
tion about  to  take  place,  the :  distance  to  which  I  am  destined 
to  go,  the  responsibility  of  the  undertaking,  my  ignorance  of  the 
character  of  the  people  whom  I  may  visit,  and  of  the  circum- 
stances in  which  I  shall  be  placed,  the  privations  and  hardships 
which  I  shall  experience,  and  the  dangers  to  which  I  shall  be 
exposed,  all  these  combine  to  fill  my  mind  with  anxious  and  pain- 
ful feelings.  But  my  trust  is  in  the  Lord  ;  in  his  strength  I  will  go 
forward. 

Madison,  Indiana,  December  p,  1824.  Agreeably  to  my  expec- 
tation, on  the  28th  of  October  I  left  home  and  commenced  my 
journey  on  horseback  to  this  state.  Mr.  John  Young,  another 
missionary  for  Indiana,  had  agreed  with  me  before  leaving  Prince- 
ton to  bear  me  company  on  the  journey.  We  were  to  meet 
at  Geneva.  The  first  Sabbath  after  leaving  home  I  spent  at 
Hamilton  College  ;  the  second  at  Geneva.  At  that  place  I  found 
that  Mr.  Young  had  waited  for  me  for  some  days,  but  had  left  for 
Canandaigua.  On  Monday  the  8th  of  November  I  proceeded  to 
the  latter  place,  hoping  to  overtake  him,  but  he  had  left  about 
three  hours  before  my  arrival  there.  I  pursued  my  journey  alone 
to  Buffalo,  where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  overtaking  Mr.  Young.  In 
his  company  I  proceeded  to  Chautauqua  County  before  the  next 
Sabbath.  In  that  county  we  both  spent  the  Sabbath.  The  follow- 
ing Sabbath  was  spent  near  Cleveland  in  Ohio,  the  Sabbath 
succeeding  near  Worthington  in  the  same  state,  and  the  next 
Sabbath  in  Harrison  and  vicinity,  on  the  borders  of  Indiana.  This 
day  we  have  reached  Madison. 

I  feel  bound  to  render  humble  thanks  to  God  for  his  goodness 
in  rendering  my  journey  so  pleasant  and  prosperous.  He  has 
preserved  me  from  sickness  and  from  death,  has  permitted  no 
accident  or  harm  to  befall  me.  We  have  met  with  a  very  kind 
and  apparently  cordial  reception  from  the  people  of  this  place.  I 
am  greatly  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the  town  and  of 
the  people.  The  recent  affliction  the  church  has  experienced  in 
the  loss  of  their  minister,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Trimble,  renders  their 
case  still  more  interesting. 

Thus  began  what  was  to  be  the  longest  period  of 
continuous  service  ever  accomplished  by  a  Presbyterian 
minister  in  Indiana — eighteen  years  at  Madison  and  nearly 
a  half-century  of  active  labor  in  the  state. 


TWO    FELLOW-TRAVELERS.  I99 

The  work  was  initiated  by  an  extensive  tour  of  explora- 
tion, Mr.  Young  having  undertaken  for  a  time  the  supply 
of  the  Madison  pulpit.  Mr.  Johnston  was  engaged  for 
nearly  three  months  upon  this  missionary  journey.  He 
makes  the  following  reference  to  it  in  his  journal : 

Madisojt,  March  10,  1825.  The  intervening  time  has  been  spent 
in  itinerating  through  the  southeastern  section  of  the  state.  I  have 
traveled  about  five  hundred  miles  and  preached  about  fifty  times. 
Have  enjoyed  good  health,  been  prospered  in  my  journey,  been 
kindly  received,  and  as  well  accommodated  as  the  circumstances 
of  new  settlements  would  permit.  Have  received  as  a  compensa- 
tion for  my  services  since  leaving  here  five  dollars  and  twenty 
cents,  and  have  expended  in  traveling  the  same  sum.^ 

1  A  loose  leaf  of  the  journal  contains  the  following  interesting  record :  "  Arrived 
within  ye  bounds  of  Indiana  on  ye  7th  of  December,  1824.  Arrived  at  Madison  on  ye 
9th.  Preached  at  Madison  on  ye  eve  of  ye  loth  from  Heb.  ii.:  3.  Preached  on  ye 
Sabbath  at  Sam'l  Ryker's  from  Rev.  iii.:  20.  On  Thursday  eve.,  loth,  at  Madison 
from  Luke  xv.:  11-24.  On  Sabbath,  19th,  at  Madison,  from  i  Peter  i.:8,  Eccl.  xii.:  i, 
and  Matt,  v.:  6.  On  Wednesday  eve.,  22d,  at  Vernon,  from  Eccl.  xii.:  i.  Thursday  eve., 
23d,  at  Mr.  Clapp's,  Heb.  ii.:  3.  Friday  eve.,  24th,  at  Columbus,  Matt,  v.:  6.  Sab.  morn., 
26th,  at  Mr.  Young's,  Rev.  iii.:  20;  eve.,  at  Mr.  King's,  Franklin,  Luke  xv.:  11-24.  Wed. 
eve.,  29th,  at  Indianapolis,  Eccl.  xii.:  i.  Tues.  eve.,  Jan.  4,  at  Mr.  Smock's,  Matt,  v.:  6. 
Wed.  eve.,  5th,  at  Mr.  Morgan's,  on  Sugar  Creek,  Rev.  iii.:  20.  Thur.  eve.,  at  Shelby- 
ville,  Heb.  ii.:  3.  Sat.  eve.,  8th,  at  Greensburgh,  Rev.  iii.:  20.  Sab.,  9th,  Rom.  vi.:  23, 
Luke  XV.:  11-24.  Mon.  eve.,  loth,  at  Mrs.  Hamilton's,  Isa.  Iv.:  6.  Tues.  eve.,  at  Wm. 
Thrcp's,  Heb.  ii.:  3.  Thurs.  eve.,  13th,  at  Mr.  Donnell's,  Matt,  xxv.:  1-13.  Frid.  eve., 
14th,  at  Mr.  Antrobus',  'The  rich  man  and  Lazarus.'  Sab.  morn.,  15th,  at  Cyrus 
Hamilton's,  i  Peter  i.:  8;  eve.,  at  Mr.  Collins',  2  Peter  iii.:  18.  Thur.,  12  o'clock,  at 
Rushville,  Heb.  ii.:  3;  eve.,  Luke  xv.:  11-24.  Sab.  eve.,  Jan.  23,  i  Peter  i.:  8.  Mon. 
eve.,  24th,  at  Mr.  Brownlee's,  Matt,  xxv.:  1-13.  Tues.  eve.,  2Sth,  at  Connersville,  Rev. 
ill.:  20.  Wed.,  12  o'clock,  at  Mr.  Bell's,  Matt,  v.:  6.  Wed.  eve.,  at  Dunlapsville,  Heb. 
ii.:  3.  Thur.  eve.,  27th,  at  Bath,  Matt,  xxv.:  1-13.  Frid.  eve.,  28th,  at  Mr.  Sering's,  Isa. 
Iv.:  6.  Sat.  eve.,  29th,  at  Mr.  Murphy's,  Amos  iv.:  12.  Sab.  morn.,  30th,  Bath,  Eccl. 
xii.:  i;  eve.,  at  Mr.  Simonson's,  Cedar  Grove,  Luke  xv.:  11-24.  Monday,  31st,  at  Mr. 
Gouday's,  2  Peter  iii.:  18.  Wed.,  Feb.  2d,  12  o'clock,  at  Esq.  Cox's,  Amos  iv.:  12. 
Thur.,  3d,  at  12  o'clock,  at  Mr.  Bell's,  Rev.  iii.:  20.  Sat.  eve.,  5th,  at  Rushville,  Rev. 
iii.:  20.  Sab.,  12  o'clock,  Eccl.  xii.:  i.  Sab.  eve..  Matt,  xxv.:  1-13.  Wed.  eve.,  9th,  at 
Cole's  settlement,  i  Peter  i.:  8.  Sab.  eve.,  13th,  at  Indpls,  i  Peter  i.:  8.  Tues.,  12 
■o'clock,  15th,  at  Franklin,  Matt,  xxv.:  1-13.  Wed.,  16th,  12  o'clock,  at  Edinburgh, 
Heb.  ii.:  3.  Sab.  morn.,  20th,  at  Bloomington,  i  Peter  i.:  8.  Thurs.  eve.,  24th,  at  Mr. 
'Steele's,  Rev.  iii.;20.  Sab.  mom.,  27th,  at  Mr.  Reed's  place  of  worship,  Heb.  ii.:' 3. 
-Mon.  eve.,  28th,  at  Spenser,  Amos  iv.:  12.  Sab.  eve.,  Mar.  6th,  at  Mr.  Smock's,  '  Ye 
Rich  Man  and  Lazarus.'  Mon.  eve..  Mar.  7th,  at  Franklin,  Matt,  v.:  6.  Tues.  eve., 
:at  Columbus,  Rev.  iii.:  20.  Wed.  eve.,  9th,  at  Vernon,  i  Peter  i.:  8.  Preached  from 
the  time  that  I  left  Madison  10  ye  time  that  I  returned  fifty  times.  Traveled  about  500 
miles  in  all." 


200  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Monday,  October  jd.  After  having  spent  a  number  of  months 
in  a  very  pleasant  manner,  preaching  to  this  people,  the  church 
and  congregation  have  this  day  made  out  a  unanimous  call  for  me 
to  become  their  pastor.  I  know  no  place  where  I  would  more 
willingly  take  up  my  permanent  abode  and  no  people  to  whom  I 
would  more  cheerfully  become  united  in  the  endearing  relation  of 
pastor. 

Thursday,  October  20th.  This  has  been  to  me  a  most  solemn 
and  interesting  day.  Salem  Presbytery  convened  here  yesterday, 
and  having  received  me  under  their  care,  attended  to  the  requisite 
examinations  and  trials,  and  to-day  they  have  installed  me  as 
pastor  of  this  church.^  Rev.  John  Finley  Crowe  preached  the 
sermon  ;  Rev.  John  M.  Dickey  presided  and  gave  the  charges  to 
myself  and  to  the  congregation  and  also  offered  the  consecrating 
prayer  ;  Rev.  Alexander  Williamson  and  Rev.  Tilly  H.  Brown 
were  also  present  and  united  in  the  imposition  of  hands. 

April  ij,  1826.  I  am  this  day  to  set  off  on  a  journey  to  the  East 
for  the  purpose  of  visiting  my  friends  and  attending  the  meeting  of 
the  General  Assembly  at  Philadelphia. 

July  28.  After  a  long  absence  from  my  people  I  have  this  day 
been  permitted  to  return.  I  have  visited  my  father's  family  and 
other  relatives  and  friends,  and  attended  as  I  expected  the 
General  Assembly.-  Found  one  of  my  sisters  on  a  bed  of  lan- 
guishing and  death.  Before  the  close  of  my  visit  I  witnessed  her 
decease.  It  is  my  earnest  prayer  that  I  may  be  as  well  prepared 
for  death  as  she  appeared  to  be.  My  visit,  though  on  many 
accounts  interesting,  has  not  afforded  me  so  much  enjoyment  as  I 
anticipated.  My  mind  dwelt  much  upon  the  dear  people  of  my 
charge.  The  interest  I  feel  in  their  spiritual  welfare  I  found  to  be 
greater  when  separated  from  them  than  I  was  aware  of  when  with 
them.     Madison  appears  to  me  the  dearest  place  on  earth. 

The  missionary,  now  fully  established  upon  his  field, 
found  opportunities  for  useful  labor  rapidly  multiplying. 
The  Indiana  Missionary  Society,  at  first  auxiliary  to  the 
Assembly's  Committee  of  Missions,  but  at  the  fourth 
annual  meeting,  August  4,  1826,  made  tributary  to  the 
American   Home   Missionary  Society,   on   Mr.   Johnston's 

1  He  was  at  the  same  time  ordained. — "  Minutes  Salem  Presbytery',"  Vol.  I.,  p.  36. 

2  The  petition  from  Salem  Presbytery  for  a  division  into  three  Presbyteries  he  success- 
fully presented  to  the  Assembly. — "  Minutes  Salem  Presbytery,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  33,  34. 


TWO    FELLOW-TRAVELERS.  20I 

arrival  in  the  state,  placed  him  upon  the  executive  commit- 
tee. He  also  became  the  society's  secretary.  Mission- 
aries from  the  East  were  instructed  to  report  to  him,  and 
were  by  him  apprised  of  the  fields  selected  for  them.^ 
He  was  thus  required  to  assume  the  burden  of  an  extensive 
•correspondence  and  to  acquaint  himself  by  frequent  ex- 
plorations with  the  whole  territory.  Large  packages  of 
letters  received  from  students  in  the  seminaries,  and  from 
missionaries  recently  arrived,  together  with  official  com- 
munications from  every  quarter,  show  the  high  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held  and  the  conscientious  assiduity  of  his 
service. 

The  more  we  study  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  the  men 
who  founded  our  church  in  Indiana  the  more  we  are  com- 
pelled to  admire  their  zeal,  their  faith  in  God,  and  the 
wisdom  and  breadth  of  their  plans  for  God's  kingdom. 
But  there  is  a  painful  sense  of  the  extreme  poverty  of  the 
means  at  their  command.  The  effort  to  systematize 
missionary  operations  in  the  state  was  attended  with 
severe  sacrifices  on  the  part  of  all  our  oldest  and  most 
useful  men.  But  besides  the  Missionary  Society  they 
undertook  the  establishment  of  state  benevolent  societies 
in  behalf  of  the  Bible,  the  tract  cause,  temperance,  etc. 
They  fostered  education  and  wrought  unitedly  for  the 
Hanover  Academy.  A  theological  department  was  founded 
and  professors  were  secured.  In  all  these  far-reaching 
plans  Mr.  Johnston  was  prominent.  When,  in  addition, 
the  publishing  of  a  religious  newspaper  as  the  organ  of 
the  Indiana  Missionary  Society  was  contemplated,  he,  in 
consideration  both  of  his  qualifications  for  the  trust  and  of 
his  convenient  location,  was  by  all  approved  for  the 
editorial  chair.  To  this  latter  undertaking  he  makes  the 
following  reference  in  his  diary  : 

1  The  missionaries  of  the  A.  H.  M.  S.  upon  this  field  were  "located  "  by  the  Indiana 
society.    See  Johnston's  "  Forty  Years  in  Indiana,"  p.  9. 


202  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

June  2j,  1828.  Have  this  day  commenced  the  pubHcation  of  a 
religious  periodical.  What  will  be  the  result  of  this  undertaking 
and  how  long  it  will  be  prosecuted  is  very  uncertain.  I  have 
engaged  with  no  very  sanguine  hopes  of  success.  Have  been  in- 
fluenced by  the  advice  of  a  number  of  my  brethren.  Through 
God's  blessing  religion  may  be  subserved  by  this  humble 
periodical. 

The  Indiana  Religious  Intelligencer,  started  without 
capital,  with  no  support  but  the  faith  of  a  few  missionaries 
whose  annual  income  reached  all  the  way  from  fifty  to  four 
hundred  dollars,  without  a  single  salaried  assistant,  was 
published  in  the  wilderness  for  eighteen  months,  and  in  a 
modest  sphere  was  useful.  With  such  scanty  resources  it 
was  impossible,  however,  to  maintain  a  rivalry  with  old  and 
well-supported  journals.  The  last  and  seventy-first  num- 
ber appeared  January  29,  1830.  No  doubt  the  work  of 
the  printers,  at  first  C.  P.  J.  Arion  and  afterward  Arion  & 
Lodge,  had  often  to  be  in  great  part  a  labor  of  love. 
"It  is  now  my  desire  and  determination,"  observes  Mr. 
Johnston,  ' '  to  devote  myself  more  exclusively  and  more 
zealously  than  ever  to  the  work  of  the  ministry." 

Meanwhile,  March  26,  1829,  he  had  been  united  in 
marriage  with  Mrs.  Eliza  Ann  McChord,  and  had  again 
visited  his  early  home  in  New  York.  When  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  second  church  was  effected  in  Madison  he 
continued  there  as  pastor  of  the  new  flock.  For  a  single 
year  he  exchanged  labors  with  the  Rev.  Henry  Little, 
agent  of  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society.  As 
stated  clerk  of  Synod  during  the  sad  period  of  strife  within 
our  church  he  was  required  to  assume  grave  responsibili- 
ties, and  then  exhibited  qualities  which  won  the  admiration 
of  opponents  and  friends. 

Finally,  in  1843,  he  removed  to  Crawfordsville  and  for 
eight  years  was  pastor  of  Centre  Church.  In  1851  he 
became  principal  of  the  female  seminary  at  Crawfordsville,. 


TWO    FELLOW-TRAVELERS.  203 

continuing  in  that  position  for  about  four  years.  From 
1854  to  the  summer  of  1866  he  led  a  laborious  life  of  mis- 
sionary service,  statedly  preaching  at  Perrysville,  Coving- 
ton, Eugene,  Newport,  Brown's  Valley,  and  Parkersburgh, 
and  frequently  accepting  calls  for  labor  in  yet  other 
localities.  In  1866  Centre  Church,  Crawfordsville,  secured 
his  services  and  during  the  succeeding  winter  nearly  one 
hundred  names  were  added  to  the  roll.  "As  if  to  give  a 
peculiarly  splendid  crown  to  his  long  period  of  service  God 
blessed  his  ministry  with  the  most  remarkable  revival  ever 
experienced  in  the  town."  In  August,  1867,  he  became 
pastor  ejneritus,  retiring  from  active  duty  in  the  ministry. 
Having  three  years  before  preached  for  the  last  time,  after 
a  slow  and  peaceful  decline  he  fell  asleep  March  8,  1876, 
and  two  days  later,  on  the  fifty-first  anniversary  of  the 
commencement  of  his  labors  as  pastor  at  Madison,  he  was 
laid  to  rest  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery. 

In  person  tall  and  slender,  of  a  grave  countenance  and 
demeanor,  Mr.  Johnston  united  great  gentleness  with 
unusual  firmness  and  force.  Not  insensible  to  argument, 
his  opinion  when  intelligently  formed  was  with  difhculty 
shaken.  He  inherited  Colonel  Witter  Johnston's  stead- 
fastness. ' '  He  is  well  remembered  by  the  older  residents 
of  Sidney  Plains  as  an  amiable  young  man,  remarkable  for 
his  diligence  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  his  freedom  from 
the  frivolities  and  excesses  of  youth,  and  perhaps  more 
than  all  for  his  strictly  conscientious  deportment  and 
exemplary  religious  character,  which  dates  back  almost  to 
his  earliest  childhood."  ^ 

Ex- President  Woolsey  of  Yale  College  writes  :^ 

Mr.  Johnston  and  I  were  classmates  at  Princeton  in  1821,  1822, 
and  1823.  In  the  last-mentioned  year  I  left  Princeton  to  be  a  tutor 
in  Yale   College.     I  have  had  a  little  correspondence  with  him 

1  "  Sidney  Centennial,"  p.  90. 

2  MS.  letter  dated  June  30,  1876. 


204  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

since  then  by  letter,  but  I  believe  that  we  have  never  met  since 
that  time.  I  esteemed  and  respected  Mr.  Johnston  more  perhaps 
than  any  other  of  my  classmates.  I  had  entire  confidence  in  his 
character  as  a  Christian  man,  and  respected  his  manliness  and 
soundness  of  judgment.  We  agreed  then  in  our  theology,  and  I 
always  thought  him  cut  out,  as  it  were,  to  be  a  minister.  It  is 
now  fifty-two  years  since  our  Princeton  days,  and  the  impression 
he  made  on  me  was  so  positive  that  I  have  never  failed  or  abated 
in  my  respect  for  him.  His  traits  of  mind  and  character,  as  they 
presented  themselves  to  me,  were  great  soundness  of  judgment  in 
practical  matters,  an  uncommon  amount  of  principle,  and  a 
solidity  of  character  on  which  I  could  entirely  rest.  We  all 
thought  highly  of  his  abilities,  though  he  had  nothing  brilliant 
about  him.     He  was  a  model  to  the  class. ^ 

What  Mr.  Johnston  was  in  youth,  and  later  in  his 
student  days,  that  he  continued  to  be  in  old  age,  perhaps 
growing  in  mellowness  and  cheerfulness  as  the  years  in- 
creased. 

I  have  just  been  calling  [says  President  Tuttle]  on  the  vener- 
able patriarch  of  our  church  in  Indiana,  the  Rev.  James  H. 
Johnston.  There  was  no  special  reason  for  the  call  beyond  the 
pleasure  it  brought  the  visitor  himself.  To-day  I  find  him  as 
cheerful  and  even  hilarious  as  he  ought  to  have  been  when  so 
many  years  ago  he  dismounted  in  that  pretty  town  on  the  Ohio 
for  the  first  time.  I  have  not  heard  a  merrier  laugh  in  many  a 
day  than  his,  as  he  told  me  of  the  inquiries  made  by  himself  and 
his  traveling  companion  for  a  suitable  stopping-place  at  Rising 
Sun,  when  on  his  first  journey  westward.  They  were  told  of  a 
Major  Jelly  as  keeping  a  sort  of  "ministers'  tavern,"  and  asked 
their  informant  if  the  major  was  a  pious  man.  "  He's  only 
middling,"  was  the  reply.  After  his  hearty  laugh  Mr.  Johnston 
added,  "  We  found  the  major  was  not  a  church  member,  but  his 
wife  was,  and  they  gave  us  a  cordial  welcome."- 

1  To  an  official  letter  dated :  "  Office  of  the  A.  H.  M.  S.,  87  Nassau  Street,  January 
4,  1827,"  and  signed,  "Absalom  Peters  by  T.  D.  Woolsey,"  the  following  postscript  is 
appended:  "  My  dear  friend,  I  know  not  that  I  should  have  fulfilled  my  promise  made 
in  the  spring,  of  writing  to  you,  if  I  had  not  been  called  to  do  it  in  this  official  manner. 
I  am  at  present  performing  the  duties  of  an  assistant  secretary  of  the  A.  H.  M.  S.  until 
an  individual  can  be  found  to  take  the  place  permanently  and  am  happy  that  it  has  fallen 
to  my  lot  to  correspond  with  you.     Ever  yours,  T.  D.  W." 

2  A  communication  dated  December  9,  1872,  and  printed  in  the  "  Sidney  Centennial 
Volume,"  pp.  go,  91. 


TWO    FELLOW-TRAVELERS.  205 

February  5,  1865,  Mr.  Johnston  delivered  at  Crawfords- 
ville  an  historical  discourse  describing  "A  Ministry  of 
Forty  Years  in  Indiana."  The  sermon  was  published, 
and  not  only  preserves  many  valuable  facts  but  uninten- 
tionally proves  how  large  a  part  he  himself  was  of  the 
early  days.      Yet  he  says  :' 

It  is  but  an  humble  part  I  have  borne.  But  I  have  great  cause 
for  thankfulness  for  the  uniform  health  and  strength  that  have 
been  vouchsafed.  Few,  indeed,  have  been  the  Sabbaths,  through- 
out this  whole  period,  on  which  I  have  been  prevented  from 
preaching  by  bodily  indisposition.  And  with  the  exception  of 
four  years,  in  which  my  duties  in  connection  with  Crawfordsville 
Female  Seminary  required  my  whole  attention,  I  have  seldom 
failed  to  preach  on  the  Sabbath  from  any  cause.  The  wonder  is 
that  I  have  been  permitted  to  labor  so  long.  Scott  and  Martin 
and  Matthews  and  Dickey  and  Crowe,  and  very  many  others  much 
younger  than  they,  have  passed  away.  Of  the  eight  ministers 
that  were  present  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Indiana  in 
1826,  I  am  the  only  one  now  living,  and  of  the  fifteen  that  consti- 
tuted the  whole  number  of  Presbyterian  ministers  in  the  state  in 
1825,  all  are  in  their  graves  but  myself. 

But  now,  perhaps,  the  fellowship  alluded  to  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  him  by  Albert  Barnes  has  been  attained,  and 
not  with  his  college  friend  alone,  but  also  with  his  fellow- 
laborers  upon  this  western  field. 

I  showed  you  yesterday  the  spot  where  I  shall  soon  enter  on 
my  long,  last  sleep,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  my  eyes  will  be 
closed  in  that  long  slumber  before  they  will  look  on  you  again. 
Yet  we  shall  not  sleep  in  the  sense  that  we  shall,  in  no  respect, 
be  awake  and  conscious.  In  that  spirit  world  of  which  we 
talked,  and  of  which  we  felt  that  we  knew  so  little,  I  trust  we 
may  often  meet,  before  the  archangel's  trump  shall  awake  the 
slumber  of  our  graves.^ 

1  "  Forty  Years  in  Indiana,"  pp.  27,  28. 

2  Johnston's  "  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  Albert  Barnes."  p.  13. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  Period  of  Increased  Missionary  Zeal. 
1825. 

New  and  more  earnest  discussions  of  the  problems  of 
domestic  missions  were  just  now  prominent  in  influential 
circles  of  religious  thought  throughout  the  older  states. 
Especially  were  the  young  men  and  the  professors  in  the 
theological  seminaries  aroused.  It  has  been  seen  what 
Princeton  had  done  for  Indiana  alone  during  the  year 
1824.  There  was  the  same  wise  enthusiasm  at  Andover. 
An  important  result  of  the  missionary  revival  was  the 
attempt  to  concentrate  and  thus  to  economize  effort,  and 
the  consequent  establishment  of  a  national  organization — 
the  American  Home  Missionary  Society.*  There  had  thus 
far  been  a  great  variety  of  small  local  societies^ ;  there  was 
now  to  be  a  system  of  labor  for  the  whole  land.  In  this 
enterprise  the  Presbyterians  were  largely  and  for  the  time 
happily  united  with  the  Congregationalist,  the  Reformed 
(Dutch)  Church,  and  other  evangelical  Christians. 

Growing  out  of  the  awakened  interest  in  domestic  mis- 
sions at  least  six  young  men  in  the  senior  class  of  Andover 
Seminary 

had  already  decided  to  devote  themselves  to  missionary  labors  in 
the  western  or  southern  portions  of  our  country.  These  were 
Hiram  Chamberlain,  Augustus  Pomeroy,  Lucius  Alden,  John  M. 
Ellis,  Luther  G.  Bingham,  and  Aaron  Foster.  In  looking  about 
for  some  society  under  whose  patronage  and  commission  they 
might  go  forth,  Mr.  Bingham  applied  to  the  Connecticut  Mission- 

1  For  a  valuable  though  not  altogether  dispassionate  account  of  the  origin    of  the 
A.  H.  M.  S.  see  The  Home  Missio?iary,  Vol.  XLIX,  No.  i. 

2  Cf.  Appendix  I. 

206 


GROWING    MISSIONARY    ZEAL.  207 

ary  Society  ;  under  the  advice  and  agency  of  Rev.  Dr.  Porter,  Mr. 
Foster  made  application  to  the  Charleston  (S.  C.)  Domestic 
Missionary  Society,  and  the  others  to  the  United  Domestic 
Missionary  Society  of  New  York.  Upon  request  of  this  latter 
society,  as  suggested  by  Rev.  Dr.  Porter,  four  of  the  above-named 
young  men— namely,  Pomeroy,  Alden,  Ellis,  and  Bingham— on 
the  evening  of  the  day  after  the  anniversary,  that  is  the  29th  of 
September,  1825— were  ordained  as  missionaries  by  a  council 
called  for  the  purpose  in  the  Old  South  Church,  Boston. 
Mr.  Chamberlain,  being  a  member  of  Rev.  Dr.  Spring's  church  in 
New  York,  received  ordination  from  a  Presbytery.  Mr,  Foster,  in 
connection  with  two  or  three  other  classmates,  found  it  convenient 
to  be  ordained,  October  19,  1825,  in  Rutland,  Vt.     And  agreeably 

to  an  understanding  with  the  executive  committee  in  New  York 

who  had  agreed  to  take  three  of  these  young  missionaries  under 
their  patronage— a  request  was  made  by  said  executive  committee 
that  a  council  should  be  called  in  Boston  for  their  ordination.  As 
this  occasion  was  new,  so  it  was  one  of  great  interest,  and  "was 
attended  by  persons  interested  in  the  prosperity  of  Zion  from 
various  parts  of  the  United  States. ' '  Rev.  Matthias  Bruen,  of  New 
York,  preached  the  sermon  from  i  Cor.  iv.:i;  Rev.  Brown 
Emerson,  of  Salem,  Mass.,  offered  the  ordaining  prayer;  Rev. 
Samuel  H.  Cox,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  gave  the  charge  ;  and  Rev. 
Justin  Edwards,  of  Andover,  presented  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship. 

Thus  set  apart  for  the  missionary  work,  Mr.  Alden  went  to 
Indiana,  Mr.  Ellis  to  Illinois,  Mr.  Pomeroy  to  Missouri,  where,  in 
St.  Louis,  he  met  his  friend,  Rev.  Hiram  Chamberlain,  under 
commission  likewise  from  the  United  Domestic  Missionary 
Society  of  New  York.  Rev.  Mr.  Bingham  went  to  Ohio,  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  and  for 
several  years  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Marietta.  Rev.  Mr. 
Foster  went  to  South  Carolina,  and  was  for  a  while  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Pendleton.^ 

Lucius  Alden  had  been  one  of  the  committee  of  six 
appointed  by  the  "Society  of  Inquiry"  at  Andover,  April 
12,  1825,  to  foster  the  interest  in  domestic  missions 
throughout  the  Christian  community.  He  received  his 
first  commission  from  the  U.  D.  M.  S. 

1  The  Home  Missionary ,  May,  1876,  p.  4. 


208  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

One  hundred  dollars  was  granted  him  as  an  outfit  to  bear  his 
expenses  to  the  field  of  his  contemplated  ministry,  with  the 
expectation  that  he  would  locate  himself  where  the  principal  part 
of  his  support  would  be  paid  by  the  people.  We  are  now  happy 
to  state,  from  the  reports  of  Mr.  Alden,  that  after  a  tour  of  about 
eight  weeks,  in  which  he  seems  to  have  embraced,  with  great 
fidelity  and  zeal,  every  opportunity  of  subserving  the  cause  of 
Christ,  he  became  located  on  the  8th  of  January,  1826,  in  the  town 
of  Aurora,  Dearborn  County,  Ind.,  where  his  prospects  of  ex- 
tended and  increasing  usefulness  are  such  as  to  satisfy  this 
committee  that  he  has  been  wisely  directed  to  that  as  the  field 
of  his  future  labors.  Our  missionary  has  been  received  with  great 
cordiality  by  the  people  of  that  place  and  vicinity,  and  there 
is  a  prospect  that  they  will  be  able  to  sustain  a  large  portion 
•of  his  support.  With  the  exception  of  one  Dearborn  is  the  most 
populous  county  in  the  state  and  previous  to  the  arrival  of  our 
missionary  had  no  Presbyterian  minister  within  its  bounds.^ 

Reference  is  made  to  Mr.  Alden  in  the  official  records  of 
the  two  subsequent  years  : 

His  labors  appear  to  have  been  acceptable  to  the  people  and 
highly  useful  in  the  places  above  named  [Lawrenceburgh  and 
Aurora]  and  in  several  of  the  neighboring  congregations,  particu- 
larly in  Caesar-Creek  township,  Broome  County,  Ky.,  where 
he  has  preached  occasionally.  As  Lawrenceburgh  is  the  seat  of 
justice  and  Aurora  the  seat  of  a  flourishing  school,  which  has 
grown  up  under  the  fostering  care  of  our  missionary,  these  are  re- 
garded by  the  committee  as  very  interesting  and  important 
locations.^ 

The  reports  from  these  congregations  [says  the  society  the 
following  year]  have  been  interesting.  Our  missionary  has  been 
instrumental  in  forming  four  Sabbath-schools  with  libraries,  one  of 
which  has  one  hundred  scholars  and  eighteen  teachers,  and  all 
of  which  are  flourishing.^ 

With  his  other  work  Mr.  Alden  was  able  also  to  give 
some  attention  to  the  Hopewell  church,   near  Dillsboro.* 

1  Fourth  Report  of  U.  D.  I\I.  S.,  p.  22. 

2  Report  of  A.  H.  M.  S.,  May,  1827,  p.  12. 

3  Report  of  A.  H.  M.  S.,  May,  1828,  p.  11. 

4  Stewart's  "  History  of  Whitewater  Presbytery,"  p.  23. 


GROWING    MISSIONARY    ZEAL.  209 

In  1830  his  field  was  "Rising  Sun,  Csesar  Creek,  and 
vicinity,"  and  on  July  7th  of  that  year  he  writes  to  the 
secretary  of  the  Indiana  Missionary  Society  as  follows  : 

Within  this  field  of  labor  are  three  small  churches  of  the  Presby- 
terians. We  have  one  place  of  worship  completed  and  arrange- 
ments are  making  to  erect  two  others.  We  have  a  temperance 
society  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  members  which  has  effected 
much  good,  diminishing  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits  three  fourths  in 
about  six  months,  and  some  intemperate  persons  have  been,  we 
hope,  thoroughly  reformed.  We  have  a  tract  society  and  have  ex- 
pended about  twenty  dollars  for  tracts.  Considerable  has  been 
done  to  supply  the  destitute  with  Bibles.  Our  Sunday-schools 
prosper  and  generally  have  libraries.  A  seminary  of  learning  for 
the  higher  branches  has  been  established,  and  considerably  well 
sustained.  Yet  almost  all  here  is  yet  to  be  done.  A  little  pre- 
paratory work,  however,  has  been  accomplished.  I  am  now  to 
visit  the  East,  and  leave  this  people  only  with  the  prospect  of 
occasional  supplies  from  Presbytery. 

Princeton  Seminary  also  continued  its  benefactions  to 
the  West,  furnishing  this  year  three  new  men  to  Indiana. 
Lewis  McLeod  came  from  the  U.  D.  M.  S.,  having 
obtained  his  commission  a  few  days  earlier  than  Mr.  Alden. 

One  hundred  dollars  was  granted  him  as  an  outfit,  with  the 
expectation  that  he  would  be  able  to  select  a  location  where  his 
support  after  reaching  the  field  of  his  labors  would  be  derived 
principally  from  the  people.  Our  missionary  writes  us  from  Har- 
rison in  that  state^  under  date  of  March  13,  1826,  that  having  visited 
several  places  in  Indiana,  which  present  very  interesting  and 
important  fields  for  missionary  enterprise,  he  has  at  length  con- 
cluded to  spend  the  summer  on  the  White  Waters,  chiefly  in 
the  county  of  Dearborn.  This  he  has  found  to  be  a  very  destitute 
region,  and  one  which  presents  great  encouragement  to  the  faith- 
ful labors  of  a  minister  of  Christ. ^ 

After  traveling  extensively  in  the  state  Mr.  McLeod, 
however,  finally  located  himself  at  Augusta,  Ky. 

1  Harrison  was  in  Ohio. 

2  Report  of  the  U.  D.  M.  S.,  May,  1826,  p.  34. 


2IO  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

James  Stewart  served  the  Rushville  church  for  a  few 
months,  and  for  a  similar  brief  period  labored  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  state. 

Samuel  Gregg,  a  licentiate  of  New  Brunswick  Pres- 
bytery, was  a  Tennessean  by  birth,  tall,  spare,  bent,  with 
thin  cheeks,  a  good  man,  and  a  good  preacher.  After 
five  months  of  horseback  service  in  Bartholomew,  Shelby, 
and  Johnson  Counties,  he  was  ordained  by  Madison  Pres- 
bytery, October  7,  1826,  and  installed  as  pastor  of  Jeffer- 
son church.^  Here  he  remained  for  about  ten  years,  when 
he  returned  to  his  native  state  and  took  charge  of  the  Mt. 
Zion  and  Meadow  Creek  churches.  Once  more  taking  a 
parish  in  Indiana  he  connected  himself  with  the  Presby- 
tery of  Crawfordsville,  but  his  health  soon  failed  and  his 
name  appears  upon  the  obituary  roll  presented  to  the 
Assembly  (N.  S.)  of  1843. 

' '  Mr.  Gregg  was  a  frequent  and  most  welcome  visitor  at 
my  father's  house,"  says  an  aged  member  of  the  Shelby- 
ville  congregation,  "and  invariably  he  took  the  Bible  and 
gathered  us  children  around  him,  and  taught  us  a  chapter 
in  an  impressive  and  attractive  manner.  The  first  re- 
ligious conversation  I  ever  had  was  with  him."  He 
organized  the  first  Sunday-school  in  Shelby  County. 

William  Nesbit,  formerly  pastor  of  the  Hopewell  con- 
gregation in  Hartford  Presbytery,  Synod  of  Pittsburg, 
was  sent  this  year  to  Perry  and  Spencer  Counties. 

Stephen  Bliss  is  a  name  that  belongs  especially  to 
Illinois,  but  his  ordination  by  Salem  Presbytery,  August  6, 
1825,  his  intimate  association  with  ministers  of  the  Synod 
of  Indiana,  and  his  occasional  labor  on  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Wabash  require  some  reference  to  him  here.      Born  in 

1  Dr.  Henry  Little,  during  his  first  Indiana  journey,  saw  him  there,  and  on  the  same 
occasion  found  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Henry  L.  Dickerson  ardently  exercising  his  gifts 
as  music- master. 


GROWING    MISSIONARY    ZEAL.  211 

Lebanon,  N.  H.,  March  27,  1787,  prepared  for  the  junior 
class  in  college  under  the  tuition  of  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Samuel  Wood,  of  Boscav/een,  a  graduate  of  Middlebury 
in  18 1 2,  a  student  of  theology  for  two  years  in  his  uncle's 
parsonage,  he  applied  in  18 14  to  the  Hopkinton  Associa- 
tion for  licensure,  but  was  rejected  on  account  of  what 
were  deemed  defective  views  of  the  person  and  work  of 
the  Redeemer.  He  turned  to  the  Yankee  boy's  unfailing 
resource,  and  had  charge  successively  at  Greenbush, 
Milton,  and  Utica  of  important  schools,  where  his  reputa- 
tion steadily  increased,  securing  to  him  from  Hamilton 
College  the  complimentary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
Consumption,  the  scourge  of  his  family,  compelled  him, 
however,  to  seek  a  change  of  climate,  and  in  September, 
18 1 8,  he  set  out  on  horseback,  with  his  friend  May,  for 
the  West.  He  traversed  Ohio  and  Indiana,  crossed  the 
Wabash  at  Vincennes,  and  purchased  a  small  farm  on 
Decker's  Prairie.  April  11,  1819,  the  two  friends  opened 
what  was  perhaps  the  first  Sunday-school  in  Illinois.  In 
the  autumn  of  1820  he  traveled  back  to  New  Hampshire, 
and  was  married,  April  7,  1821,  to  Miss  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Noah  Worcester.  Returning 
with  his  bride  to  the  log  house  on  the  Illinois  prairie. 
Sabbath  ' '  reading  meetings ' '  were  soon  instituted,  Mr. 
Bliss  conducting  the  service.  The  Hopkinton  Associa- 
tion, through  the  influence  of  Dr.  Wood,  in  1822  review- 
ing its  action  with  regard  to  him,  sent  him  a  license,  and 
he  began  in  an  informal  way  to  preach  in  his  own  neigh- 
borhood, gathering  the  little  flock  which  he  was  long  to 
lead,  and  which,  as  the  Wabash  Presbyterian  Church, 
still  reveres  his  memory.  What  was  the  estimation  in 
which  the  people  held  him  is  shown  by  his  unsolicited 
election  in  October,  1824,  to  the  senate  of  the  state. 
Returning  from  the  first  session  of  the  legislature  in  Van- 
dalia   he   went,    with   his   elders,    Danforth   and   Gould,  to 


212  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Washington,  Ind.,  where  occurred  his  ordination  by 
Salem  Presbytery.  Of  the  work  thus  at  last  prepared  by 
providence  there  was  no  serious  interruption  until  the 
death  of  the  pastor,    December  6,    1847. 

Mr.  Bliss  was  a  man  of  substantial  abilities,  great  kind- 
ness and  modesty,  uncommon  perseverance,  evangelical 
character,  and  permanent  usefulness.  Though  not  impas- 
sioned in  utterance,  as  a  public  speaker  he  w^as  both 
instructive  and  impressive.  Except  in  a  period  of  strife 
his  theological  views  would  perhaps  not  have  been 
criticized,  and  his  mature  opinions  occasioned  him  no 
embarrassment  among  the  '  *  Old-school ' '  Presbyterians  of 
Illinois.' 

Samuel  G.  Lowry  was  born  March  26,  1800,  in 
Washington  County,  Tenn.,  and  received  his  education  at 
Washington  College  in  his  native  state.  Licensed  by 
Ebenezer  Presbytery  October  6,  1821,  and  ordained  by 
the  same  Presbytery  December,  1822,  he  came  to  Indiana 
in  December,  1825,  and  was  received  by  Madison  from 
Cincinnati  Presbytery  Octobers,  1826.  For  seven  years 
he  labored  in  Decatur  County  in  charge  of  Sand  Creek 
(now  Kingston)  church,  and  during  four  and  a  half  years 
of  that  period  also  cared  for  the  church  at  Greensburgh, 
which  he  himself  organized  May  2,  1826.  Supplying  the 
pulpit  of  Poplar  Spring  church,  Putnam  County,  for  two 
years  from  1832,  an  agent  of  the  A.  H.  M.  Society  from 
1834  to  1839,  during  a  part  of  which  time  he  was  likewise 
engaged  as  agent  of  Wabash  College,  preaching  for  nearly 
eight  years  at  Rockville  from  July,  1839,  his  last  charge  in 
Indiana  comprised  the  Bainbridge  and  New  Winchester 
congregations,  over  which  he  was  installed  in  February, 
1848.  While  at  Bainbridge  he  gave  a  portion  of  his  time 
to  the  churches  of  Parkersburgh  and  Waveland.  Resigning 
his  position  in  November,  1856,  he  removed  to  Minnesota 

1  See  "  Life  and  Times  of  Stephen  Bliss,"  by  Samuel  C.  Baldridge,  Cincinnati,  1870. 


GROWING    MISSIONARY    ZEAL.  213 

in  the  spring  of  1857,  where  he  remained  until  his  death, 
at  Austin,  September  26,  1886.   Of  all  the  Indiana  pioneers 
settled  previous  to  1826  he  was  long  the  solitary  survivor. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Milligan  wrote  : 

Mr.  Lowry  spent  more  than  thirty  years  of  his  ministry  in 
Indiana  and  performed  much  hard  labor  for  the  churches,  besides 
enduring  a  great  amount  of  physical  toil  in  providing  for  a  numer- 
ous family.^  His  amiable  manners,  practical  wisdom,  his  familiar 
acquaintance  with  ecclesiastical  law,  his  soundness  of  doctrine  and 
wide  experience  made  him  useful  in  an  eminent  degree.^ 

1  This  was  an  incident  frequently  emphasizing  the  necessity  of  applications  to  the 
missionary  treasury.  The  Sand  Creek  church  in  its  request  for  aid  wrote  to  the 
A.  H.  M.  S.,  September,  1825 :  "  Our  proposed  minister  is  a  young  man  with  a  rising 
family,  who  has  expended  his  small  patrimony  in  preparing  himself  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel."    Report,  May,  1826,  p.  69. 

2  See  also  Sinter's  "  History  of  the  Shelby ville  Church,"  pp.  10,  11. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

Organization  of  the  Synod  of  Indiana. 
1826. 

What  Indiana  was  in  1826  we  may  learn  from  one 
whose  observation  was  uncommonly  intelligent  and  whose 
pen  was  singularly  graceful.  It  was  no  doubt  George 
Bush  who  wrote  from  Indianapolis,  November  30,  his  im- 
pressions of  his  western  field  :^ 

The  state  of  Indiana  presents  at  this  moment  a  field  both  of 
action  and  contemplation  in  the  highest  degree  interesting. 
Possessing  a  territory  of  which  the  beauty  of  its  visible  aspect  is 
equaled  only  by  the  amazing  fertility  of  the  soil,  a  soil  un- 
moistened  by  the  sweat  or  the  tears  or  the  blood  of  the  slave, 
it  must  soon,  from  its  local  relations  and  its  internal  resour- 
ces, rank  with  the  most  populous  states  of  the  Union.  It  is 
now  teeming  with  the  hordes  of  emigration,  and  the  progress  of 
improvement  is  inconceivable.  The  earlier  inhabitants,  in  viewing 
or  describing  the  changes  which  ten  or  fifteen  years  have  effected 
in  the  state  of  this  immense  forest  (as  it  was  at  that  time),  can 
scarce  refrain  from  bursts  of  astonishment.  Though  the  trees, 
wherever  you  travel,  bear  the  marks  of  the  Indian  tomahawk, 
and  the  very  poles  and  the  crisped  barks  which  formed  their 
temporary  camps  are  still  to  be  seen,  yet  farms  are  everywhere 
opening  in  the  wilderness,  the  resounding  axe  is  heard  as  often 
and  as  far  as  the  yells  of  wild  beasts,  the  nimble  deer  feed  among 
the  domestic  herds,  and  every  twenty  or  thirty  miles  the  spire  of 
a  handsome  court-house  of  brick  rises  amidst  the  deadened 
trunks  of  the  poplars,  walnuts,  and  oaks. 

From  living  in  a  central  part  of  the  state,  on  a  road  that  forms 
the  great  thoroughfare  from  the  East  to  the  West,  I  am  situated 
favorably  for  observing  the  flow  of  emigration.  During  the 
autumnal   months,  nothing  is   more  common  than   to  see  ten, 

1  See  Report  of  A.  H.  M.  S.  for  1827,  pp.  93-5. 


INDIANA    SYNOD    ORGANIZES.  215 

fifteen,  or  twenty  wagons  passing  in  a  single  day,  carrying  the 
little  all  of  the  families,  which  pass  in  groups  by  their  sides.  As 
many  as  thirty  of  these  loaded  wagons  have  been  known  to  camp 
for  the  night  at  the  same  spot  in  the  wilderness.  The  destina- 
tion of  the  great  body  of  emigrants  that  pass  through  the  center 
of  the  state  is  the  tract  of  country  bordering  along  the  Wabash, 
particularly  from  the  point  where  this  river  falls  in  with  the 
eastern  boundary  line  of  Illinois,  upward  toward  its  source. 
This  region  is  becoming  the  garden  spot  of  Indiana  ;  and  the  rate 
at  which  population  is  augmenting  in  that  quarter  exceeds  belief. 
And  truly,  from  the  acquaintance  I  have  gained,  during  a  recent 
tour  to  the  Wabash,  with  that  part  of  the  state,  I  am  ready  to 
believe  that,  were  a  stranger  to  the  peculiar  features  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  to  be  suddenly  set  down  in  any  of  the  prairie 
tracts  which  adorn  that  noble  stream,  he  could  not  but  wonder 
that  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  providence  should  have  so  long 
withheld  such  enchanting  regions  from  the  possession  of  civilized 
men. 

Such  is  the  natural  character  of  a  very  considerable  portion  of  a 
country,  of  which  its  moral  aspect  forms  a  mournful  reverse  to  the 
•sketch  now  given.  The  Canaanite  is  yet  in  the  land  ;  its  clusters 
are  the  clusters  of  Sodom.  Not  that  the  body  of  the  population 
are  entirely  regardless  of  any  form  of  religion.  On  the  contrary, 
there  is  an  abundance  of  what  is  called  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  ;  much  of  a  disposition  to  hear  ;  much  of  a  certain  kind  of 
zeal  and  of  the  form  of  godliness.  But  alas  !  there  is  little,  little  of 
the  true  evangelical  dispensation  of  the  word  of  life,  or  its 
appropriate  fruits. 

This  dark  view,  however,  we  are  happy  to  state,  is  relieved 
by  many  grateful  facts  of  a  different  kind.  The  Lord  has  a 
•chosen  seed  scattered  here  and  there  over  this  barren  land.  And 
the  lonely  missionary  who  turns  aside  to  tarry  for  a  night  in 
the  humble  cabins  of  the  wilderness  will  often  find  himself 
delighted  and  refreshed  by  the  pious  conversation  and  prayers  of 
a  venerable  father  or  mother  in  Christ.  These  are  they  who 
are  pining  for  the  bread  of  life,  who  are  turning  their  anxious  eyes 
to  the  proffered  aid  of  your  society.  They  are  few  in  number  and 
weak  in  means  ;  but  could  the  gospel  once  be  statedly  fixed 
among  them,  their  prospects  would  be  enlightened,  as  it  is 
well  ascertained  that  there  is  scarcely  any  settlement  in  the 
country  containing  a  few  pious  families  but  the  number  would 
be  speedily  increased  by  emigrants  were  there  only  a  certainty 


2l6  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

that  the  privileges  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel  awaited  their 
arrival.  How  then  shall  this  seed  become  productive  of  a  future 
harvest  without  cultivators?  And  where  are  the  cultivators  to  be 
found  ?  They  are  not  in  the  field  ;  nor  are  they  rearing  up  in  the 
midst  of  us.  In  the  Presbyterian  connection  there  are  not  three 
candidates  for  the  ministry  in  the  whole  state.  Whence  then  shall 
we  look  for  Pauls  and  Apolloses  to  tend  the  husbandry  of  God 
but  to  your  society  ? 

Our  population  at  present  is  rated  at  between  200,000  and  300,- 
000 ;  and  we  have  only  twelve  resident  Presbyterian  ministers  in 
the  state.  The  Presbytery  to  which  I  belong  embraces  a  range  of 
territory  nearly  200  miles  in  length  and  80  in  breadth  ;  in  u^hich  we 
have  only  four  members  with  charges,  though  we  number 
nineteen  congregations.  I  am  stationed  in  the  center  of  a  large 
body  of  population,  yet  my  nearest  clerical  neighbor  lives  at 
the  distance  of  50  or  60  miles.  I  was  this  year  obliged  to  travel 
140  miles  to  attend  Presbytery. 

The  scarcity  of  ministers  and  missionaries  forms  the  burden 
of  our  lamentation.  Few  are  they  who  are  found  ready  to  devote 
themselves  to  the  blessed  apostolical  work  of  seeking  the  wander- 
ing sheep  ;  fewer,  no  doubt,  than  they  would  be,  could  those  w-ho 
have  abundance  be  persuaded  to  bestow  a  part  of  it  toward 
furnishing  the  laborer  with  his  well-earned  hire.  "The  Lord's 
sheep  are  scattered  because  there  is  no  shepherd  ;  yea,  his  flock 
are  scattered  upon  all  the  face  of  the  earth  and  there  is  none 
to  search  or  seek  after  them."  Most  earnestly  therefore  do  we 
request  that  shepherds  may  be  sent  among  us,  those  who  shall 
"seek  that  which  is  lost,  and  bring  again  that  which  is  driven 
away,  and  bind  up  that  which  is  broken,  and  strengthen  that 
which  is  sick." 

The  needed  "shepherds"  came  slowly.  Truman  Per- 
RiN,  however,  of  the  Royalton  Association  of  Vermont, 
arrived  this  year,  having-  been  summoned  to  take  charge  of 
the  Presbyterian  seminary  at  Vincennes.  He  was  also 
helpful  in  the  pulpits  on  both  banks  of  the  Wabash, 
but  did  not  formally  connect  himself  with  Presbytery.  As 
a  corresponding  member  he  was  present  in  the  Synod 
of  Indiana  at  its  first  meeting,  and  again  the  subsequent 
year. 


INDIANA    SYNOD    ORGANIZES.  217 

James  Crawford,  a  Princeton  graduate,  "was  ap- 
pointed as  a  missionary  in  Indiana"  by  the  A.  H.  M.  S., 
August  14,  1826.  He  reached  the  state  December  i,  and 
labored  in  Jennings  County,  "  in  a  circuit  embracing 
Paris,  Vernon,  and  Dartmouth."  In  northern  Indiana  his 
usefulness  extended  through  many  years.' 

Samuel  E.  Blackburn,  a  licentiate  of  Louisville  Pres- 
bytery, was  received  by  Salem  Presbytery,  and  on 
December  i,  1826,  was  ordained  at  Jeffersonville. 

James  Duncan,  a  minister  of  the  kirk  of  Scotland,  a 
man  of  force  and  scholarship,  coming  to  America  had 
settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Steubenville,  Ohio.  He 
was  received  by  Madison  Presbytery  October  5,  1826. 
Already  an  old  man,  and  afTflicted  with  dropsy,  he  preached 
irregularly.  He  frequently  visited  the  family  of  Mr. 
Alexander  Gordon,  at  Shelbyville,  where  he  occupied  his 
leisure  upon  the  manuscript  of  a  volume  of  sermons  which 
he  afterward  printed.^ 

On  his  foot-journey ings  through  the  state  [says  James  M.  Ray^] 
he  preached  several  times  in  the  Indianapolis  church.  He  was  a 
well-built,  broad-shouldered,  sturdy  traveler,  a  scholar  of  the 
olden  days,  having  the  paragraphs  of  his  sermons  duly  numbered, 
and  taking  his  periods  so  leisurely  that  his  stopping  at  times  to 
cut  a  chew  of  tobacco  with  his  jack-knife  from  a  plug  from  his 
pocket  would  only  cause  him  to  say  to  us,  "Well,  well,  as  I  was 
stating  under  my  last  head."  He  was  the  father  of  Congressman 
Duncan,  from  Cincinnati.  Among  the  scraps  of  memories  of  his 
preaching  I  still  have  hold  of  one  in  which  he  manifested  to  his 
own  satisfaction,  and  doubtless  to  all  those  who  had  kept  awake 

1  See  The  Home  Missiofiary,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  116,  183  ;  Vol.  IL,  pp.  63,  176;  Vol.  III.,  p. 
134;  Stewart's  "Recollections  of  Carroll  County,"  and  Ranney's  "  History  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  Delphi,  Carroll  County." 

2  A  copy  of  this  rare  volume  was  presented  to  the  Franklin  church,  at  its  semi- 
-centennial,  by  Judge  Fabius  M.  Finch. 

3  MS.  "  History  of  the  Early  Days  of  Presbyterianism  at  Indianapolis."  Cf.  Judge 
Banta's  "  Historical  Address  "  at  Franklin,  pp.  18,  19. 


2l8  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

in  a  summer  da}^  that  slavery  was  a  breach  of  ever>'  one  of  the 
Twelve  Commandments. 

Among  the  missionaries  of  the  Assembly  this  year  were 
Isaac  A.  Ogden  in  Union,  Franklin,  and  Fayette  Coun- 
ties, and  Joseph  Robinson  in  Bartholomew  and  Shelby 
Counties. 

The  event  of  the  year,  however,  was  the  organization, 
by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  on  the  29th  of  May,  of 
the  Synod  of  Indiana,  consisting  of  the  four  Presbyteries  of 
Salem,  Madison,  Wabash,  and  Missouri,  and  including, 
besides  nearly  the  whole  of  Indiana,  vast  regions  in 
Missouri  and  Illinois.  To  the  Indiana  congregations  and 
ministers,  thus  far  required  to  contemplate  annually  a  long, 
toilsome,  and  perilous  journey  across  the  Ohio  to  the 
Kentucky  Synod,  it  occasioned  most  welcome  relief  to  see 
the  center  of  ecclesiastical  power  transferred  to  their  own 
borders. 

Old  Vincennes  was  appropriately  designated  by  the 
Assembly  as  the  first  place  of  meeting.  Baynard  R.  Hall, 
who  was  present,  has  described  the  horseback  ride  from 
Bloomington. 

Uncle  John  had  been  appointed  lay  delegate  from  the  Welden 
Diocese  to  attend  an  ecclesiastical  convention  about  to  meet  early 
this  fall  at  Vincennes  ;  and  he  now,  before  our  return  to  Wood- 
ville,  obtained  my  promise  to  accompany  him.  Accordingly,  a 
few  days  after  our  return,  he,  and  with  him  Bishop  Shrub,  called 
on  me,  and  we  three  set  out  for  the  convention,  or — as  all  such 
gatherings  are  there  called — the  Big  Meeting. 

The  weather  was  luxurious,  and  the  ride  across  the  small 
prairies  was  to  me,  who  now  for  the  first  time  saw  these  natural 
meadows,  indescribably  bewitching  ;  indeed,  this  first  glimpse  of 
the  prairie  world  was  like  beholding  an  enchanted  country.  .  . 
The  bosoms  of  these  grassy  lakes  undulate  at  the  slightest  breeze, 
and  are  sprinkled  with  picturesque  islets  of  timber,  on  which  the 
trees  are  fancifully  and  regularly  disposed,  suggesting  an  arrange- 
ment by  the  taste  of  an  unrecorded  people  of  bygone  centuries 
for  pleasure   and   religion.      The   whole   brought  back   delusive 


INDIANA    SYNOD    ORGANIZES.  219 

dreams— we  felt  the  strange  and  half  celestial  thrill  of  a  fairy 

scene. 

This  Protestant  assembly  was  a  gathering  of  delegates 
principally  from  the  land  of  Hoosiers  and  Suckers,  but  with  a 
smart  sprinkling  of  Corn-crackers  and  a  small  chance  of  Pukes 
from  beyond  the  father  of  floods,  and  even  one  or  two  from  the 
Buckeye  country.  These  were  not  all  eminent  for  learning,  and 
polish,  and  dress,  wearing  neither  doane  gowns  nor  cocked  hats  ; 
although  some  there  were  worthy  seats  in  the  most  august 
assemblies  anywhere  and  however  distinguished  for  wit,  learning, 
and  goodness.  Most  of  these  Protestants,  indeed,  carried  to 
excess  a  somewhat  false  and  dangerous  maxim— "  Better  wear 
out  than  rust  out,"  since  it  is  better  to  do  neither.  And  worn, 
truly,  were  they,  both  in  apparel  and  body,  as  they  entered  the 
town  on  jaded  horses,  after  many  days  of  hard  and  dangerous 
traveling  away  from  their  cabin-homes,  left  far  behind  in  dim 
woods,  beyond  rivers,  hills,  and  prairies. 

Truly  it  was  a  House  of  Bishops,  if  not  of  Lords  ;  if 
by  a  bishop  is  meant  one  that  has  the  care  of  many  congrega- 
tions, an  enormous  parish,  abundant  religious  labors,  and  a  salary 
of  one  or  two  hundred  dollars  above  nothing.  In  the  midst  of  so 
fraternal  a  band  of  ministers  and  brothers,  I  was  constantly 
reminded  of  an  old  saying,  "  Behold  how  these  Christians  love 
one  another."  What  could  exceed  their  cordial  and  reciprocal 
greetings  at  each  arrival  ?  What  their  courtesy  in  debate  ?  What 
the  deep  interest  in  each  other's  welfare,  the  lively  emotions 
excited  by  their  religious  narratives  and  anecdotes?  And  then 
their  tender  farewells  !  To  many  the  separation  was  final  as  to 
this  life.^ 

Of  this  interesting  meeting,  the  first  Indiana  Synod,  the 
following  full  abstract  from  the  records  is  taken  : 

The  Synod  of  Indiana  convened  at  Vincennes  on  the  i8th  day  of 
October,  1826,  agreeably  to  the  appointment  of  the  General 
Assembly.  Rev.  William  W.  Martin,  the  person  appointed  to 
preach  the  opening  sermon,  being  absent,  Synod  was  opened 
with  a  sermon  from  Rev.  John  M.  Dickey  on  Genesis  xviii.:i9. 
Constituted  with  prayer. 

Present:     From   Missouri   Presbytery,    Mr.   Salmon   Giddings, 

1  See  "  The  New  Purchase,"  3d.  ed.,  pp.  271,  272,  278,  279-  The  thin  veil  of 
romance  in  these  descriptions  is  easily  penetrated.    Cf.  Chapter  XIII. 


220  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

minister,  and  Mr.  James  McClung,  elder  ;  from  Salem  Presbytery, 
Mr.  Tilly  H.  Brown,  minister,  and  Mr.  James  Young,  elder  ;  from 
Wabash  Presbytery,  Messrs.  Samuel  T.  Scott,  George  Bush,  and 
Baynard  R.  Hall,  ministers,  and  Messrs.  James  Scott,  John 
Orchard,  Frederick  Dey  Hoff,  John  Holme,  James  Carnahan, 
Robert  Taylor,  Thomas  Gold,  Samuel  Peery.  and  James  McKee, 
elders;  from  Madison  Presbytery,  Messrs.  John  M.  Dickey,  John 
F.  Crow,  and  James  H.  Johnston,  ministers,  and  Alexander 
Walker,  elder. 

Absent :  From  Missouri  Presbytery,  Rev.  Messrs.  John  Mat- 
thews, Charles  S.  Robinson,  Thomas  Donnell,  John  Brich, 
William  S.  Lacy,  and  John  S.  Ball ;  from  Salem  Presbytery,  Rev. 
Messrs.  William  W.  Martin,  John  Todd,  John  T.  Hamilton,  and 
Alexander  Williamson  ;  from  Wabash  Presbytery,  Rev.  Messrs. 
Isaac  Reed  and  Stephen  Bliss  ;  from  Madison  Presbytery,  Rev. 
Messrs.  William  Robinson,  James  Duncan,  Samuel  G.  Lowry, 
and  Samuel  Gregg. 

Mr.  Dickey  was  appointed  moderator,  Mr.  Johnston  clerk,  and 
Mr.  Brown  assistant  clerk. 

Rev.  Truman  Perrin,  from  the  convention  of  Vermont,  being 
present,  was  requested  to  take  his  seat  as  a  corresponding  member. 

Resolved,  That  Synod  adopt  the  General  Rules  for  Judicatories, 
recommended  by  the  General  Assembly,  as  the  general  rules  of 
this  Synod. 

Messrs.  Samuel  T.  Scott,  Crow,  Giddings,  and  Dickey  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  Permanent  Regulations  and  a 
Standing  Docket.  Messrs.  Crow  and  Dey  Hoff  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  examine  the  records  of  Missouri  Presbytery. 
Messrs.  Samuel  T.  Scott  and  Carnahan,  a  committee  to  examine 
the  records  of  Madison  Presbytery.  Messrs.  Giddings  and  Holme 
to  examine  the  records  of  Salem  Presbytery.  Messrs.  Johnston 
and  Walker  to  examine  the  records  of  Wabash  Presbytery. 
Messrs.  Crow  and  Bush  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a 
Synodical  report.  Messrs.  Samuel  T.  Scott,  Bush,  James  Scott, 
and  Holme  were  appointed  a  committee  of  Bills  and  Overtures, 
to  meet  at  this  place  to-morrow  morning  at  8:30  o'clock  and  after- 
ward on  their  own  adjournments.  Messrs.  Crow,  Hall,  Brown, 
McKee,  and  Gold  were  appointed  a  committee  for  judicial  pur- 
poses, to  meet  at  this  place  to-morrow  morning  at  8:30  o'clock  and 
afterward  on  their  own  adjournments. 

Presbyterial  reports  were  presented  from  Missouri,  Salem,  and 
Madison  Presbyteries,  all  of  which  were  accepted. 


INDIANA    SYNOD    ORGANIZES.  221 

On  motion,  Resolved,  That  Synod  meet  to-morrow  morning  at 
6:30  o'clock  to  spend  a  season  in  special  prayer  that  a  spirit  of 
union  and  harmony  may  be  granted  during  its  deliberations. 
Adjourned.     Concluded  with  prayer. 

October  igth.  Synod  met  agreeably  to  adjournment.  Consti- 
tuted with  prayer.  Members  present  as  on  yesterday.  Minutes  of 
yesterday  were  read.     Synod  spent  a  season  in  social  prayer. 

.  .  .  Resolved,  That  Synod  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  stated 
clerk  and  treasurer.  Whereupon  Mr.  Johnston  was  appointed 
stated  clerk  and  Mr.  Crow  treasurer. 

.  .  .  An  overture  was  presented  requesting  Synod  to  form  a 
new  Presbytery  in  the  state  of  Illinois,  making  the  boundaries  of 
the  state  the  boundaries  of  the  Presbytery.  .  .  .  After  some 
discussion  it  was  resolved  that  this  business  be  indefinitely  post- 
poned. 

An  overture  was  presented  requesting  Synod  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  prepare  a  petition  to  the  General  Assembly,  to  make  the 
Ohio  River  our  boundary  on  the  south  and  the  eastern  line  of 
Indiana  our  boundary  on  the  east.  This  overture  was  now  taken 
up  and  Messrs.  Johnston,  Crow,  and  Giddings  were  appointed 
said  committee. 

.  .  .  An  overture  was  presented  requesting  Synod  to  con- 
sider whether  some  plan  may  not  be  adopted  to  put  a  stop, 
in  some  measure,  to  the  growing  evils  resulting  from  the  intem- 
perate use  of  spirituous  liquors  and  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath 
within  our  bounds. 

Resolved,  That  this  overture  be  now  taken  up  and  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  report  on  the  subject  before  the  close  of  the 
present  session  of  the  Synod.  Messrs.  Giddings,  Hall,  and 
Crow  were  appointed  said  committee. 

An  overture  was  presented  requesting  Synod  to  consider  what 
exertions  ought  to  be  made  by  this  body  to  secure  the  location  of 
the   Western   Theological  Seminary  at  Charlestown  in  Indiana. 

Resolved,  That  this  overture  be  now  taken  up  and  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  report  on  the  same  before  the  close  of  the  present 
sessions  of  Synod.  Messrs.  Giddings,  Bush,  Hall,  Crow,  and 
Johnston  were  appointed  said  committee. 

The  following  Preamble  and  Resolutions  were  presented  for  the 
consideration  of  Synod,  viz.: 

Whereas,  Salem  Presbytery  at  its  spring  session  in  1825 
appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  succinct  history  of  the 
churches  under  its  care,  which  history  was  not  completed  until 


222  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

after  the  division  of  said  Presbytery  and  the  formation  of  the 
Synod  of  Indiana,  therefore 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  examine  said 
history  and  report  to  Synod  what  disposition  shall  be  made  of  it. 
Messrs.  Giddings,  Hall,  and  Carnahan  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee agreeably  to  the  above  resolution. 

Resolved,  That  Mr.  Bush  be  appointed  to  preach  the  missionary 
sermon  at  the  next  meeting  and  that  Mr.   Hall  be  his  alternate. 

Resolved,  That  Mr.  Scott  be  appointed  to  preach  the  "Concio  ad 
clerum"  at  the  next  meeting  and  that  Mr.  Crow  be  his  alternate. 


October  20th.  Synod  met  agreeably  to  adjournment.  .  .  . 
The  committee  appointed  to  report  on  the  growing  evils  of  intem- 
perance and  Sabbath  breaking  presented  a  report  which  was 
accepted  and  adopted  and  is  as  follows,  viz. : 

The  committee  appointed  to  inquire  what  can  be  done  to 
remedy  the  evils  arising  from  the  intemperate  use  of  ardent  spirits 
and  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  beg  leave  to  report, 

1.  That  Synod  recommend  to  each  minister  to  preach  a  sermon 
on  the  subject  of  intemperance. 

2.  That  Synod  procure  one  hundred  and  fifty  printed  copies  of  a 
memorial  to  Congress,  praying  for  an  excise  upon  spirituous 
liquors,  to  be  distributed  among  the  members  of  Synod. 

3.  That  Synod  recommend  to  its  members  to  use  their  exertions 
to  obtain  subscribers  to  this  memorial,  to  secure  the  cooperation 
of  other  denominations,  and  to  forward  the  memorial  as  soon 
as  practicable  to  our  representatives,  at  the  ensuing  session  of 
Congress. 

4.  That  Synod  enjoin  upon  its  members  to  pay  particular  atten- 
tion to  the  recommendation  of  the  General  Assembly  on  the 
profanation  of  the  Lord's  Day  contained  in  the  29th  and  30th  pages 
of  their  minutes  for  1826. 

Mr.  Hall  was  appointed  to  superintend  the  printing  of  the 
memorial  above  referred  to. 

The  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  petition  to  the  General 
Assembly  respecting  boundaries  presented  a  report  which  was 
accepted  and  adopted  and  is  as  follows,  viz. : 

The  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  petition  to  the  General 
Assembly  submit  the  following :  To  the  Rev.  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly ; 

Rev.  Sir:  Permit  us  through  you  to  lay  before  your  body  the 


INDIANA    SYNOD    ORGANIZES.  223 

following  resolution  of  the  Synod  of  Indiana  passed  at  its  sessions 
in  Vincennes  at  its  first  meeting,  viz. : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  petition 
to  the  General  Assembly  to  make  the  Ohio  River  our  boundary 
on  the  south  and  the  eastern  line  of  the  state  of  Indiana  our 
boundary  on  the  east.  In  support  of  the  above  petition  we  would 
respectfully  offer  the  following  considerations  : 

1.  We  deem  it  very  desirable  that  the  boundaries  of  our  respect- 
ive Synods  should  be  so  obvious  and  notorious  that  there  can  be 
no  difficulty  in  ascertaining  them  and  consequently  no  conflicting 
claims  to  congregations.  That  a  case  of  this  kind  occurred  in 
respect  to  Sand  Creek  church  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the 
minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1825. 

2.  The  boundaries  of  the  state  of  Indiana  seem  to  be  the  natural 
boundaries  of  the  Synod  of  the  same  name. 

3.  As  the  Presbytery  of  Missouri  is  attached  to  the  Synod 
of  Indiana,  and  the  state  of  Illinois  seems  naturally  to  belong 
to  the  same  Synod,  it  appears  improper  for  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Kentucky  Synod  to  extend  north  of  the  Ohio  River. 

4.  The  convenience  of  the  churches  within  the  specified  limits 
requires  that  they  should  all  be  attached  to  the  same  Synod. 

5.  The  desire  of  the  churches  that  would  be  affected  by  the 
proposed  alterations  has  been  expressed,  to  a  considerable  extent 
at  least,  decidedly  in  favor  of  these  alterations. 

Resolved,  That  the  above  petition  be  signed  by  the  moderator 
and  forwarded  by  the   stated   clerk   to   the   General   Assembly. 

Resolved,  moreover,  that  the  stated  clerk  be  directed  to  write 
to  the  stated  clerks  of  the  Muhlenburg,  Cincinnati,  and  Miami 
Presbyteries,  and  inform  them  of  the  measures  adopted  by  Synod 
on  this  subject  and  request  the  cooperation  of  their  respective 
Presbyteries. 

.  .  .  The  following  overture  was  taken  up,  viz. :  "Is  it  right 
for  ministers  of  our  order  to  invite  ministers  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  order  to  assist  in  the  administration  of  the  sealing 
ordinances? " 

Resolved,  That  this  business  be  indefinitely  postponed. 

.     .     .     The  following  overture  was  taken  up  and  adopted,  viz. : 

Whereas  our  Synod  presents  a  great  missionary  field  which 
ought  to  be  occupied,  and  inasmuch  as  our  people  are  more  ready 
to  contribute  for  missionary  exertions  within  our  bounds, 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  be  requested  to  permit 


224  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

this  Synod  to  manage  its  own  missionary  concerns  and  that 
the  stated  clerk  be  directed  to  forward  this  resolution  to  the 
General  Assembly. 

.  .  .  Synod  adjourned  to  meet  at  Salem  on  the  third  Thurs- 
day of  October  next.  Concluded  with  prayer  and  the  Apostolic 
Benediction. 

John  M.  Dickey,  Moderator. 
James  H.  Johnston,  Clerk. 

Having  now  traversed  the  first  period  of  our  Indiana 
church  history,  concluded  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Synod,  the  limit  of  these  studies  has  been  reached.  What 
Ave  have  seen  may  well  satisfy  our  pride.  The  roll-call  of 
pioneers  in  any  presence  may  be  listened  to  with  gladness 
and  gratitude.  Their  labors  were  prodigious.  Their  success 
was  abundant.  Their  reward  is  assured.  It  will  be  our 
duty  not  to  forget  what  they  heroically  and  wisely  did  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  that  Christian  society  whose  privileges 
remain  for  us  and  for  our  children. 

The  five  good  men  who  came  in  1827  have  all  passed 
from  earth.  Calvin  Butler,  from  Andover  and  the  A. 
H.  M.  Society,  was  for  twenty  years  eminently  useful  at 
Princeton,  Evansville,  Washington,  Booneville,  and  other 
points.' 

The  two  following  letters,  addressed  by  Mr.  Butler  to 
the  secretary  of  the  Indiana  Missionary  Society,  are  better 
than  a  biography  : 

Andover  Theological  Seminary,  June  22,  1827. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir :  I  learn  from  the  first  Report  of  the  A.  H. 
M.  S,,  of  which  the  Rev.  A.  Peters  is  the  corresponding  secretary, 
that  the  Rev.  James  H.  Johnston  is  the  corresponding  secretary 
of  the  Indiana  Missionary  Society.  I  have  agreed  to  go  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  Indiana  under  the  patronage  of  the  A.  H.  M.  S.  The 
report  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  that  Society  runs  thus  : 
"Your  appointment,  therefore,  is  for  twelve   months   from  your 

1  See    McCarer's     "  Memorial  Sermon  "  ;    A.  H.  M.  S.    Reports,    1828-1835  ;    The 
Home  Missionary,  Vol.  I.,  p.  11 ;  Vol.  II.,  p.  195  ;  Vol.  III.,  p.  200. 


INDIANA    SYNOD   ORGANIZES,  225 

arrival  on  the  field  of  labor,  to  labor  in  such  place  or  places  in  the 
State  of  Indiana  as  shall  be  advised  by  the  Indiana  Missionary  So- 
ciety." The  object  of  my  writing  is  that  you,  as  Cor.  Sec.  of  your 
Society,  would  write  me,  as  soon  as  possible,  designating  the  field 
to  which  I  shall  bear  my  course  immediately  after  leaving  this 
Seminary. 

I  wish  to  state  explicitly  the  situation  in  which  I  am  going.  I  am 
going  with  a  companion  ;  not,  however,  with  a  feeble,  sickly  thing, 
unaccustomed  to  any  place  except  the  parlor.  The  health  of  my 
intended  companion,  like  my  own,  is  at  present  perfectly  good. 
We  both  have  firm  constitutions,  I  am  to  receive  my  support,  in- 
cluding what  I  may  obtain  from  the  people  there,  from  the  A.  H. 
M.  S.  I  am  going  with  the  expectation  of  staying  there,  and  of 
settling,  when  it  shall  be  convenient  and  best.  I  am  going  without 
any  property,  except  it  be  a  good  library,  but  am  owing  more  than 
the  value  of  that ;  but  I  think  I  know  the  meaning  of  the  old  adage 
— "  Necessity  is  the  mother  of  Invention,"  and  I  hope  I  am  not 
ignorant  of  another  of  a  superior  kind — "For  we  walk  by  faith, 
not  by  sight." 

I  have  been  thus  explicit  because  Mr.  Bush  from  Indianapolis, 
who  is  here  at  present,  told  me  that  there  were  many  places  to 
which  he  should  not  recommend  a  man  to  go  with  a  companion  ; 
but  there  were  others  where  he  should.  I  have  no  particular 
choice,  except  it  be  to  go  where  there  is  a  fair  prospect  of  enjoy- 
ing good  health  and  of  doing  the  most  good.  If  there  were  two 
places  equal,  as  it  regards  these,  the  one  lying  on  the  river 
Wabash  and  the  other  in  the  country,  probably  I  should  prefer 
the  former.  Mr.  Bush  mentioned  some  places  which  he  considered 
the  most  important,  viz,  :  Terre  Haute,  Crawfordsville,  Raccoon, 
Franklin  County,  and  Bartholomew  County.  Still  he  said  you 
would  decide  it. 

I  hope  to  start  from  New  England  about  the  middle  of  October 
next,  and  I  wish  to  know  the  field  of  labor  as  soon  as  possible,  in 
order  to  make  the  necessary  preparations. 

I  am  requested  to  make  a  similar  inquiry  for  a  definite  field  of 
labor  for  Brother  Cobb,  a  classmate,  who  is  going  to  labor  under 
the  patronage  of  the  same  society.  I  will  give  you  the  vote  of  the 
Ex.  Com.,  viz.  :  Voted  to  commission  Mr.  Leander  Cobb,  to  labor 
twelve  months  in  such  place  or  places  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  or 
Illinois,  as  shall  be  advised  by  the  Indiana  Missionary  Society. 
Mr.  Cobb  will  go  out  single,  but  wishes  to  know  where  his  field  of 
labor  is  as  soon  as  possible.     Mr.  Bush  mentioned  Fountain  and 


226  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Tippecanoe    Counties,  Vermillion,    Putnam,    Owen,  and  Morgan 
Counties  as  inviting  fields  for  Brother  Cobb. 

Princeton,  Nov.  30,  1827. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir :  After  the  trials  of  a  long  and  tedious 
journey  I  have  at  last  arrived  at  what  I  shall  call  the  place  of  my 
destination.  Myself  and  companion  were  mercifully  preserved  in 
perfect  health  and  without  accident  through  the  whole  way. 
When  we  arrived  at  Indianapolis  we  were  somewhat  disappointed 
to  learn  that  Terre  Haute  was  preoccupied.  Our  minds  had  been 
fixed  upon  that  place  ever  since  I  received  your  letter  last  summer 
and  for  some  time  before  ;  but  I  doubt  not  that  it  was  all  ordered 
for  the  best.  I  was  still  further  disappointed  not  to  find  according 
to  your  letter — "  a  copy  of  instructions  ready  for  me  at  Indianapo- 
lis," but  still  shall  hope  'tis  all  for  the  best.  I  was  told  there  that  my 
place  of  location  was  to  be  at  Washington  and  that  I  was  to  labor 
in  Washington,  Paoli,  and  Princeton.  I  went  to  Washington  and 
Mr.  Carnahan  told  me  that  I  was  to  locate  myself  in  either  of  the 
places,  and  was  to  labor  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place  I  should  choose, 
and  not  in  the  other  two  places.  I  thought  he  must  be  correct 
as  he  was  personally  interested.  I  accordingly  went  to  Paoli,  and 
made  some  inquiries,  and  went  to  see  Mr.  Martin,  supposing  that 
he  would  know  all  about  it.  He  told  me  as  he  understood  the 
business  it  would  be  proper  for  me  to  select  any  place  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Salem  Presbytery,  or  in  Washington,  etc.  I  then 
went  to  Princeton,  and  made  what  inquiries  were  necessary,  and 
called  on  Mr.  Scott  as  I  returned  to  Washington,  where  I  had  left 
my  wife.  He  thought  I  was  to  labor  in  Washington  and  Porters- 
ville  and  that  no  other  places  were  assigned.  I  then  concluded 
to  make  my  own  selection,  according  as  I  thought  the  path  of 
duty  marked  out,  after  I  had  made  all  necessary  inquiries  ;  and 
accordingly  came  to  this  place.  I  thought  it  would  be  eventually 
more  for  the  interest  of  Christ's  kingdom  to  come  here  than  to 
stay  in  Washington,  because  the  principal  part  of  the  inhabitants 
are  not  professors  of  any  denomination,  and  still  they  are  very 
anxious  to  have  a  Presbyterian  minister  reside  among  them. 
They  have  also  a  fine  institution  just  coming  into  existence  which 
they  wish  to  have  patronized  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  valu- 
able to  the  cause  of  education.  At  Washington  they  are  mostly 
professors  of  some  denomination.  They  have  also  a  Cumberland 
minister  among  them  and  although  they  have  a  large  church  and 
are  anxious  that  I  should  stay,  still  I  thought  it  more  for  the  interest 
of  the  cause  to  come  to  this  place,  which  is  larger  and  unoccupied. 


INDIANA    SYNOD    ORGANIZES.  227 

Leander  Cobb,  also  from  Andover,  labored  long  in 
Clark  and  Washington  Counties,  returning  to  Massachu- 
setts in  1 841/  William  Lowry,  a  Princeton  graduate  of 
unusual  promise  and  maturity,  was  drowned  in  the  Drift- 
wood, near  Columbus,  February  11,  1828.'  William 
Henderson  was  received  from  Ebenezer  Presbytery,  but 
in  a  few  months  died.  James  Thomson,  eldest  son  of 
John  Thomson,  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  licensed  by  Cincin- 
nati Presbytery,  October  5,  1826,  and  ordained  October 
3,  1827,  came  to  the  wilderness  where  Crawfordsville  has 
been  built  and  was  prominent  in  the  penniless  quintet  of 
missionaries  who,  a  litde  later,  established  Wabash 
College.      He  died  at  Mankato,   Minn.,  October  4,   1873. 

Our  review  closes  just  as  a  second  generation  of  noble 
men,  some  of  whom  are  still  among  us,  appears  to  prose- 
cute the  Master's  work.  The  last  name  recorded  natu- 
rally suggests  a  brief  consideration  of  what  was  accom- 
plished by  Presbyterians  for  the  cause  of  education  in 
Indiana,   during  these  first  years. 

1  See  a.  H.  M.  S.  Reports;  "Salem  Presbytery  Reporter";  The  Home  Mis- 
sionary, Vol.  I.,  pp.  II,  63,  98,  182  ;  Vol.  II.,  pp.  81,  141 ;  Vol.  III.,  pp.  60,  119,  201. 

1  See  an  obituary  notice  in  Report  of  A.  H.  M.  S.,  1828,  p.  31.  The  water- 
stained  Confession  of  Faith  found  in  the  saddle-bags  of  the  missionary  after  his  death  is 
an  interesting  relic  of  the  "  perils  of  waters  "  in  the  early  days. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Indiana  Presbyterians  and  Education. 

Presbyterians  build  schoolhouse  and  church  side  by 
side.  In  all  their  history  and  in  many  lands  they  have 
been  educators.  Upon  American  soil  this  characteristic 
tendency  has  noticeably  appeared.  Of  Indiana  it  is 
almost  literally  true  that  there  were  no  schools  until  the 
Presbyterian  minister  arrived.  Nearly  without  exception 
the  first  ministers  were  school-teachers  also,  and  when  an 
exception  did  occur  the  minister's  wife  usually  was  com- 
petent and  willing  to  take  upon  herself  what  had  come  to 
be  regarded  as  a  feature  of  the  ordinary  pastoral  work. 
Scott  at  Vincennes,  about  1803,  and  Baldridge  at  Law- 
renceburgh,  as  early  as  181 1,  started  schools.  Who  in 
Indiana  taught  Greek  and  Latin  before  them  ?  ^  Their 
immediate  successors  in  the  pulpits — Robinson,  Dickey, 
Todd,  Martin,  Reed — all  followed  them  into  the  school- 
room too.  Bible  and  spelling-book  as  civilizers  helped 
each  other,  and  tuition  fees  made  a  grateful  though  slight 
addition  to  the  precarious  and  scanty  income.  In  the 
early  schemes  to  establish  permanent  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, there  was,  however,  a  different  and  stronger  motive, 
the  desire  to  obtain  for  the  new  West  a  competent,  in- 
digenous ministry. 

1  In  "The  Schools  of  Indiana"  a  statement  is  made  which  requires  modification. 
"  The  pioneer  teachers,"  says  the  writer,  "  were  generally  adventurers  from  the  East, 
or  from  England,  Scotland,  or  Ireland,  who  sought  temporary  employment  during 
winter  while  waiting  for  an  opening  for  business."  This  maybe  largely  true  of  the 
second  generation  of  school-teachers  whom  Mr.  Hobbs  remembers.  But  there  were 
others  of  a  different  sort,  twenty  or  thirty  years  before  them.  It  is  believed  that  the 
best  pioneer  school  work  in  Indiana  was  done  by  Presbyterian  ministers,  and  that  they 
were  the  literal  pioneers  in  that  work,  with  the  sole  exception  of  two  or  three  Catholic 
missionaries  like  Father  Rivet.     Cf.  "The  Schools  of  Indiana,"  pp.  53,  54. 

228 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS   AND    EDUCATION.  229 

Of  the  oldest  Indiana  college,  the  State  Institution  at 
Bloomington,  the  origin  is  to  be  traced  to  national  legisla- 
tion. But  in  its  beginnings,  the  work,  though  unde- 
nominational, fell  upon  the  Presbyterians.^  The  first  in- 
structors were  all  Presbyterian  ministers  and  the  board  of 
trustees  was  largely  Presbyterian.  This  predominance, 
fairly  won  at  first,  naturally  disappeared  in  time  from  an 
institution  adopted  and  fostered  by  the  state,  and  might 
probably  with  advantage  have  been  yielded  with  less  delay. 

In  1802  the  national  Congress  had  made  a  grant  of  a 
township  of  land  in  Gibson  County  for  the  support  of  an 
institution  of  learning,  and  encouraged  by  that  act  the 
territorial  legislature  in  1807  incorporated  the' Vincennes 
University.  When  in  18 16  Indiana  was  admitted  into  the 
Union,  Congress  granted  an  additional  township  for  college 
purposes,  and  under  that  act  Perry  township  in  Monroe 
County  was  designated.  Thereupon,  the  Vincennes 
University  being  regarded  as  a  lifeless  scheme,  the  legis- 
lature in  1820  appointed  the  trustees  of  the  Indiana 
Seminary,  and  the  board  having  met  in  the  following  June 
at  Bloomington,  selected  the  site  of  the  future  university. 
Steps  were  taken  toward  the  erection  of  a  building,  the 
contracts  being  let  in  March,  1822.  Two  years  were 
consumed  in  the  work,  which  was  still  incomplete  when, 
in  the  spring  of  1825,  with  about  twenty  students,  Baynard 
R.  Hall,  who  had  come  West  for  that  service,  opened  the 
school.  He  had  entire  charge  of  the  institution  until 
May,  1827,  when  John  H.  Harney  became  associated  with 
him,  as  professor  of  mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  and 
astronomy.  Early  in  1828  the  legislature  chartered  the 
school  as  a  state  college,  and  the  Rev.  Andrew  Wylie, 
D.D.,    president    of   Washington    College,    Pennsylvania, 

1  On  an  ill-considered  page  an  Indiana  writer,  describing  the  origin  of  the  first 
schools,  ventures  to  attribute  to  unworthy  motives  the  natural  prominence  in  the  work 
of  education  of  the  few  men  on  the  field  who  were  themselves  educated.  See  "  Indiana 
Methodism,"  p.  317. 


230  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

was  summoned  to  the  head  of  it.  There  he  remained 
until  his  death,  November  11,  1851,  for  twenty-three  years 
successfully  conducting  its  affairs  through  many  perils  and 
conflicts.^  The  school  was  greatly  embarrassed  by  its 
poverty.  By  and  by  serious  disagreements  arose  in  the 
faculty.  The  jealousies  of  the  sects  made  trouble.  In 
1854  nearly  everything  visible  belonging  to  the  college 
was  destroyed  by  fire.  And  finally  the  Vincennes  Univer- 
sity, supposed  to  have  been  long  comfortable  in  its  grave, 
successfully  asserted  before  the  courts  its  claims  to  the 
proceeds  of  the  Gibson  County  lands,  which  had  been 
expended  at  Bloomington.  By  the  timely  intervention  of 
the  legislature,  the  state,  rather  than  the  college,  was 
made  the  sufferer,  the  judgment  against  it  amounting  to 
sixty-six  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-five  dollars. 
The  institution  was  thereby  rescued  from  what  had  looked 
like  irretrievable  disaster.  In  recent  years  a  generous 
attitude  toward  its  child  has  been  maintained  by  the 
General  Assembly,  and  the  State  University  now  honorably 
occupies  the  place  it  has  bravely  conquered  for  itself. 
With  regard  to  its  aims,  its  methods,  and  its  success 
Indiana  Presbyterians  can  never  be  indifferent,  having 
borne  so  largely  all  the  responsibilities  of  its  early  career. 

It  was  in  the  establishment  of  Hanover  College, 
however,  the  oldest  of  the  denominational  schools,  and 
only  a  little  less  ancient  than  the  institution  at  Blooming- 
ton,  that  the  earliest  energies  and  affections  of  the  church 
were  directly  engaged.  The  lack  of  Christian  laborers 
was  a  daily  burden  upon  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  men 
who  were  toiling  in  these  swamps  and  forests.^  Few 
recruits  could  be  expected  from  the  older  communities. 

1  See  "  Address  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  Andrew  Wylie,  D.D.,"  by  Theophilus 
Parvin,  M.D.,  Indianapolis,  1858. 

2  See  Dr.  Crowe's  account  of  the  origin  of  the  college,  Johnston's  "  Forty  Years  in 
Indiana,"  pp.  21,  22.  Cf.  Cressy's  "Appeal  in  Behalf  of  the  Indiana  Theological 
Seminary,"  pp.  7,  9. 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  23I 

Some  who  did  venture  away  from  the  more  luxurious  con- 
ditions of  society  in  the  East  were  feeble  and  useless  as 
frontiersmen.     There  must  be  a  way  devised  to  educate 
the  Christian  young  men  already  on  the  ground.      How 
could  that  object  be  secured?     The  problem  was  a  con- 
stant  theme   of   lonely    thought,    and    of   long    debate    in 
Presbytery,    by  cabin  back-logs  and  "on   horseback  jour- 
neys, considered  too  with  an  intensity  of  feeling,  a  fixed- 
ness of  purpose,  and  a  solidity  of  judgment  in  every  way 
remarkable.     The  names  of  the  men  most  conspicuous  in 
these  negotiations  are  happily  not  forgotten.     They  were 
chiefly  John   Finley  Crowe,   John   McElroy   Dickey,    and 
William  W.  Martin.      Into  their  circle  was  fully  admitted, 
upon    his    arrival    in    1824,    James    H.    Johnston,    whose 
position   at    Madison,    and    as    secretary    of    the    Indiana 
Missionary  Society,   made  him   painfully  familiar  with  all 
the    necessities    of    the    field.      Dickey    had    carried    the 
burden   longest.      Martin    was    already    training    ministers 
and    ministers'     wives    in    his    own    Livonia    log  house. 
■Crowe,  the  pastor  at   Hanover,  years  before  a  successful 
teacher   in   Kentucky,  a  man  of  admirable   discretion  and 
persistence,    was    steadily    pushed   forward  by   providence 
until,  laying  down  a  few  first  bricks,  he  found  that  he  had 
''builded  better   than    he    knew,"    and    had    become  the 
founder  of  a  college. 

No  sooner  had  Salem  Presbytery  come  together  at  the 
first  meeting  than  they  began  to  confer  about  the  means  of 
Christian  education.^  The  theme  so  promptly  introduced 
was  never  allowed  to  rest  in  Presbytery  or  Synod  until 
provision  had  been  made  for  a  complete  classical  and  pro- 
fessional training.  At  the  meeting  of  Presbytery  in  the 
autumn  of  1825  a  committee  was  appointed  to  perfect  a 
scheme  for  a  Presbyterial  academy  and  to  determine  its 
location.     The  committee's  report  at  a  subsequent  meeting 

I  Cf.  Chapter  XII. 


232  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

favored  the  village  of  Hanover  as  the  seat  of  the  academy 
and  a  committee  was  designated  to  obtain  a  teacher. 
Already  as  a  preparatory  step  a  private  school  had  been 
opened  at  Hanover  by  a  gentleman  invited  thither  by  Mr. 
Crowe.  But  the  search  for  a  permanent  instructor  proved 
unsuccessful,  and  finally,  in  1826,  the  Presbytery^  formally 
laid  the  whole  work  upon  Mr.  Crowe,  requesting  him  to 
organize  the  academy  and  take  charge  of  it  until  other 
arrangements  should  be  made.  Accordingly  "  in  a  log 
cabin  on  Dr.  Crowe's  grounds,  near  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  on  the  first  of  January,  1827,  the  school  was 
organized  with  prayer."^  Thus  at  last  was  planted  in 
Indiana  the  germ  of  a  Presbyterian  college. 

The  first  pupil  of  the  school,  the  Rev.  William  M. 
Cheever,  has  furnished  an  account  of  his  earliest  Hanover 
experiences  : 

My  father,^  who  was  teaching  school  in  Paris,  Jennings  County,. 
Indiana,  was  prevailed  upon  by  Rev.  John  Finley  Crowe  to 
remove  in  1825  to  South  Hanover  and  open  a  school  in  the  old 
stone  meeting-house,  which  was  to  become  in  part  a  sort  of  feeder 
to  the  classical  academy  which  Mr.  Crowe  intended  to  open  at  no 
distant  day.  Though  a  mere  lad,  I  attended  my  father's  school, 
studying  under  him  the  Latin  grammar.  Two  years  after,  in  1827, 
when  between  eight  and  nine  years  of  age,  I  started  to  Mr. 
Crowe's  Classical  Academy,  which  was  opened  in  his  old  loom- 
house.  I  remember  vividly  that  first  day.  It  was  quite  an  epoch 
in  my  life.  Besides,  my  father,  who  was  deeply  interested  in  this- 
"young  school  of  the  prophets,"  as  he  termed  it,  often  afterward 
alluded  to  the  events  of  that  day  and  they  became  fixed  in  my 
memory.  He  used  to  tell  me  that  I  had  this  preeminence,  if  no 
other,  "  I  was  the  first  student  on  the  ground  the  day  when 
Dr.  Crowe  opened   his   academy."     I   have    seen    and    heard  a 

1  The  first  steps  were  taken  by  Solemn  Presbytery,  at  the  time  the  only  Presbytery  in 
the  state.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Synod  in  1826  the  academy  was  included  in  the 
territory  of  Madison  Presbytery,  which  conducted  its  affairs  until  they  were  committed 
to  the  Sjmod. 

2  "Semi-Centennial  Sketch,"  by  George  C.  Heckman,  D.D.,  pp.  4,  5. 

3  Joshua  Cushman  Cheever,  a  native  of  Vermont,  a  student,  though  not  a  graduate,  at 
Brattleboro,  a  good  classical  scholar  and  lifelong  teacher. 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  233 

A^ariety  of  statements  as  to  those  early  days,  none  of  them  being 
absolutely  correct.  Indeed,  I  suppose  it  will  be  impossible  now 
to  reproduce  all  the  facts  as  they  actually  transpired  during  the 
first  few  weeks.  But  this  much  is  correct.  On  the  first  day  there 
were  but  two  students  present,  James  Logan  and  I.  He  was 
several  years  my  senior.  I  have  seen  the  statement  that  the 
academy  opened  in  the  old  loom-house  with  some  half-dozen 
young  men  present  the  first  day,  among  whom  were  Daniel  and 
Samuel  Lattimer,  James  Logan,  David  V.  Smock,  and  young 
McNutt.  But  none  of  them  were  there  on  the  morning  of  the 
opening  save  Logan. ^  He  and  I  had  the  distinguished  honor  of 
being  the  pioneer  students. 

For  the  academy  thus  established  an  act  of  incorporation 
was  obtained  from  the  legislature  December  30,  1828.  As 
there  was  now  every  promise  of  permanent  success  the 
Presbytery  sought  to  transfer  the  school  to  the  supervision 
of  the  Synod,  and  at  the  fall  meeting  in  1829  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  effect  that  object.  The  committee  ap- 
peared in  Synod  in  October,  and  having  reported  the 
action  of  Presbytery  it  was  approved  by  Synod  and  the 
academy  was  adopted  as  a  Synodical  school  ' '  provided  the 
trustees  of  the  same  will  permit  the  Synod  to  establish 
a  theological  department  and  appoint  the  theological  pro- 
fessors."^ The  condition  named  was  willingly  acceded  to, 
the  negotiations  were  at  once  completed,  and  the  school 
became  the  Synod's  property. 

Steady  progress  had   from  the  first  been  made  toward 

1  A  little  later  (July  4,  1877),  while  suffering  severely  from  the  cancerous  affection 
•which  was  soon  to  terminate  his  useful  life,  Mr.  Cheever  wrote  as  follows ;  "  The  real 
fact,  as  nearly  as  it  will  probably  ever  be  ascertained  in  this  world  is— there  were  but 
two  at  the  first  recitation,  three  at  the  second,  and  several  others  dropped  in  that  week, 
and  more  the  week  following.  This  is  probably  the  order  as  to  their  coming :  (i) 
Cheever,  (2)  Logan,  (3)  Smock,  (4)  McNutt,  (5)  Hanna,  (6)  Creswell,  (7)  Daniel  Latti- 
mer, (8)  Samuel  Lattimer,  (9)  Tilford,  (10)  Graham,  (11)  Miller."  Mr.  Cheever  adds  : 
"  Perhaps  one  reason  why  my  memory  of  those  early  days  ought  to  be  better  than  that 
of  others  is  that  my  father  was  Dr.  Crowe's  nearest  neighbor  and  intimate  friend. 
These  matters  were  themes  of  constant  conversation  between  Dr.  Crowe  and  my  father, 
in  my  presence.  I  call  up  with  more  ease  the  recollection  of  those  days  than  I  do  the 
transactions  after  1832,  when  I  reentered  and  graduated." 

2  "  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  loi,  102. 


234  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  work  and  position  of  a  college,  and  in  1833,  the  legis- 
lature having  amended  its  charter,  the  Hanover  Academy 
was  in  future  to  be  known  as  Hanover  College.  Funds 
had  been  diligently  collected,  buildings  had  been  erected, 
and  the  Rev.  James  Blythe,  D.D.,  of  Lexington,  Ky, ,  be- 
came the  first  president  of  the  enlarged  institution.  Of  the 
first  board  of  trustees  of  the  college  the  Rev.  John 
M.  Dickey  was  president,  the  Rev.  James  H.  Johnston 
secretary,  and  the  Hon.  Williamson  Dunn  treasurer. 
From  the  first  college  catalogue  it  appears  that  there  were 
already  in  attendance  seven  theological,  sixty-three  collegi- 
ate, and  one  hundred  and  thirteen  preparatory  students. 
Since  that  early  day  the  college  has  shared  with  similar 
institutions  a  varied  experience  of  prosperity  and  gloom, 
but  now,  with  seventy  years  of  history  back  of  it,  has  in 
its  faculty,  its  alumni,  its  endowments  and  traditions,  a 
permanent  foundation. 

The  Indiana  Theological  Seminary  was  conspicu- 
ously a  child  of  providence  from  the  first.  Reference  has 
been  made  to  the  motive  in  which  it  originated,  and  so 
imperative  did  this  motive  become,  as  year  after  year  the 
need  of  ministers  increased,  that  desire  advanced  to  what 
looks  like  desperation,  and  the  audacity  of  the  first  efforts 
gives  to  this  chapter  of  history  the  tone  of  romance. 
Throughout  the  church  and  on  the  floor  of  the  General 
Assembly  there  were  already  most  earnest  discussions  as  to 
the  feasibility  of  establishing  a  divinity  school  in  the  West. 
To  these  debates  the  little  band  of  pioneers  in  Indiana 
listened  with  unflagging  attention,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
rivalry  between  Allegheny  Town  and  Walnut  Hills  had 
sufficient  assurance  to  propose  as  a  better  location  Charles- 
town,  in  Clark  County!  "An  overture  was  presented 
requesting  Synod  to  consider  what  exertions  ought  to  be 
made  by  this  body  to  secure  the  location  of  the  Westera 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  235 

Theological  Seminary  at  Charlestown  in  Indiana."^  The 
next  day  after  the  presentation  of  this  overture,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  report  of  an  able  committee  to  which  it  had 
been  referred,  it  was  resolved  : 

(i)  That  Synod  approve  the  resolution  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  establish  a  Western  Theological  Seminary.  ( 2 )  That  if  such 
seminary  is  ultimately  to  become  a  benefit  to  the  rapidly  increas- 
ing population  west  of  the  mountains,  it  ought  to  be  at  present 
located  in  a  central  situation  without  much  regard  to  the  amount 
of  monies  offered  by  the  several  places  now  proposed.  (3)  That 
Synod  consider  Allegheny  Town  as  entirely  too  far  east  to  be  con- 
sidered even  as  a  western  town,  and  Charlestown  as  more  central 
than  Walnut  Hills.  (4)  That  Charlestown  is  a  healthful  situation 
and  easy  of  access,  and  that  the  maintenance  of  students  and  the 
salaries  of  professors  will  be  for  many  years  very  far  less  than 
at  the  other  places,  owing  among  other  things  to  the  comparative 
plainness  of  our  manners.  (5)  That  the  seminary  may  and  proba- 
bly ought  to  commence  on  a  small  scale,  and  be  gradually 
enlarged,  as  the  funds  and  the  number  of  students  increase. 
(6)  Synod  pledge  themselves  to  use  their  highest  efforts  to  aid  the 
seminary,  if  located  at  Charlestown.  (7)  A  committee  should  be 
appointed  to  address  a  communication  to  the  General  Assembly, 
stating  the  reasons  which  induce  the  Synod  of  Indiana  to  recom- 
mend Charlestown  as  a  suitable  site  for  the  intended  theological 
seminary,  and  that  this  committee  be  required  to  ascertain  as  far 
as  practicable,  by  communicating  with  other  Synods,  and  by  any 
other  means  they  may  see  proper,  how  much  interest  may  exist  in 
favor  of  Charlestown,  and  how  large  an  amount  of  money  may 
probably  be  raised  for  that  place,  which  also  shall  be  stated  to  the 
General  Assembly.  ^ 

The  committee  suggested  by  the  last  resolution  was  ap- 
pointed—  Messrs.  Dickey,  Hamilton,  and  Bush,  strong 
and  true  men  all  of  them.  But  at  this  interval  it  will 
occasion  no  surprise  that  their  faith  was  disappointed,  and 
that  Bush,  describing  the  Assembly  of  1827  and  the 
triumph  of  Allegheny  Town,  confessed  that  he   "did  not 

1  "  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  13. 

2  "  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  21-3. 


236  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

plead  hard  for  Charlestown,  which  could  have  stood  no 
chance  against  the  formidable  bids  of  the  other  two  sites."' 
To  Crowe,  Dickey,  and  Johnston  and  their  associates 
this  first  "Waterloo  defeat,"  however,  only  furnished  new 
enthusiasm  and  better  discipline.  Promptly  turning  from 
the  more  ambitious  design  to  their  own  smaller  resources, 
in  October,  1827,  it  was  resolved  "that  a  committee  of 
three  members  of  Synod  be  appointed  to  consider  the  ex- 
pediency of  taking  preparatory  steps  for  the  establishment 
of  a  literary  and  theological  seminary,  under  the  care 
of  Synod  ;  and,  should  such  a  course  be  by  them  thought 
expedient,  that  they  be  authorized  to  draw  up  a  plan 
of  such  seminary  and  report  on  the  subject  at  the  next 
stated  meeting  of  Synod."''  This  committee^  made  report 
at  the  subsequent  meeting  in  1828,  when,  "  after  some  dis- 
cussion "  the  further  consideration  of  it  was  indefinitely 
postponed  "excepting  the  item  concerning  a  theological 
seminary,"  which  was  postponed  for  another  year.*  At 
Shoal  Creek  church.  Bond  County,  III,  October  16,  1829, 

the  order  of  the  day,  namely,  the  report  respecting  a  theological 
seminary,  was  taken  up  and  the  following  resolution  was  adopted, 
viz.: 

Whereas,  Hanover  Academy  has  been  incorporated  by  an  act 
of  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  according  to  which  act 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  said  Academy  are  permitted,  by  special 
provision,  to  place  it  under  the  care  of  any  body  of  learned  men 
that  they  may  select ;  and 

Whereas,  the  board,  at  a  late  meeting,  appointed  a  committee 
of  their  body  to  make  a  tender  of  the  institution  to  the  Synod  of 
Indiana,  that  said  Synod  might  avail  themselves  of  the  corporate 
privileges  granted,  in  founding  a  theological  seminary,  in  con- 
nection with  the  Academy,  therefore. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed,  on  the  part  of  the 

1  Cf.  biographical  notice  of  Bush. 

2  "  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  53. 

3  The  committee  were  Messrs.  Dickey,  Crowe,  and  Johnston. 

4  "  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  62. 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  237 

Synod,  to  confer  with  the  committee  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Academy,  and  to  report  on  the  subject  as  soon  as  may  be  practi- 
cable.^ 

The  day  following  the  committee  reported 

that  they  have  conferred  with  said  committee,  and  have  examined 
the  charter  of  said  Academy  and  inquired  into  its  present  pros- 
pects, and  they  believe  that  the  interests  of  the  churches  within 
our  bounds  would  be  promoted  by  taking  said  Academy  under 
the  care  of  this  Synod.  They  therefore  recommend  the  adoption 
of  the  following  resolutions,  viz.:  (i)  That  this  Synod  adopt 
said  Academy  as  a  Synodical  school,  provided  the  trustees  of  the 
same  will  permit  the  Synod  to  establish  a  theological  department 
and  appoint  the  theological  professors.  .  .  .  (3)  That  this 
Synod  appoint  a  Board  of  Directors,  to  superintend  the  theologi- 
cal department  of  Hanover  Academy.  (4)  That  the  Synod  at 
this  time  appoint  a  theological  professor.  (5)  That  the  Synod 
appoint  a  committee  to  prepare  a  plan  of  union,  to  be  agreed 
upon  by  the  trustees  of  the  Academy  and  the  Synod  of  Indiana, 
and  also  a  plan  for  the  regulation  of  the  theological  department. ^ 

The  sagacious  and  prudent  men  who  had  had  this 
business  in  charge  did  not  venture  thus  far  without  consid- 
ering whether  for  the  proposed  chair  of  theology  a 
competent  scholar  could  be  obtained.  With  the  Rev.  Dr. 
John  Matthews  an  informal  correspondence  had  been 
opened,  as  to  the  possibility  of  his  coming  to  Hanover  if 
an  invitation  should  be  extended  to  him.  The  following 
reply  was  addressed  to  the  '  *  Rev.  Messrs.  J.  F.  Crow  and 
J.  H.  Johnston"  : 

Shepherdstown,  Va.,  September  23,  1829. 
Your  joint  letter  of  the  loth  inst,  was  duly  received  and  its 
suggestions  have  been  the  subject  of  serious  consideration.  I 
suppose  that  consideration  is  all  that  can  be  expected  from  me,  in 
the  present  stage  of  the  business  to  which  you  refer.  Materials 
which  would  justify  a  decision,  one  way  or  the  other,  are  not  yet 

1  "  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  93,  94. 

2"  Minutes  Synod  of  Indiana,"  Vol.  I.    pp.  101-3.    As  the  committee  here  required 
Messrs.  Moreland,  Martin,  Dickey,  Cobb,  and  Johnston  were  named. 


238  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

furnished,  nor  is  it  in  your  power  to  furnish  them,  as  they  would 
be  derived  from  events  yet  future,  and  over  which  your  ageney 
may  have  but  a  limited  influence.  I  wish  to  feel,  as  every  minis- 
ter of  the  gospel  ought  to  feel,  devoted  to  the  great  Head  of  the 
church.  This,  of  course,  implies  a  willingness  to  labour  wherever 
he  may,  in  his  providence,  call  me.  Altho  my  labours  have  not 
been  blessed  of  late  years  with  the  same  numbers  added  to  the 
church  as  formerly,  yet  I  must  consider  it  my  duty  to  remain  and 
labour  here,  till  a  call  from  some  other  quarter  shall  reach  me.  If 
this  call  should  come,  it  will  then  be  the  subject  of  consideration 
with  a  view  to  a  decision.  If  the  claims  of  this  call  are  stronger 
than  those  arising  out  of  my  present  location,  they  will  prevail. 
One  thing  indispensably  necessary  would  be,  the  prospect  of  use- 
fulness ; — another  would  be,  a  support  for  my  family.  I  have  not 
for  twenty  years  past  attended  to  anything  but  the  duties  of  the 
ministry,  have  received  at  no  time  more  than  a  bare  support,  and 
that  with  the  greatest  economy.  A  support  is  all  I  expect.  My 
family  consists  of  myself  and  wife  ;  one  daughter  grown  ;  four 
little  boys,  the  oldest  ten ;  and  two  sons  at  the  Seminary  at 
Princeton,  all  dependent  on  my  salary  ;  with  one  or  two  servants. 
I  am  not  competent  to  judge  what  would  answer  this  purpose  in 
your  state,  not  being  acquainted  with  the  expenses  of  living  there. 
You  will  see  therefore  that  from  the  nature  of  the  case  I  cannot 
give  a  decisive  answer  to  your  proposition,  and  must  of  course 
leave  you,  and  all  who  may  feel  interested  in  the  case,  to  be 
influenced  by  your  own  views  of  expediency  respecting  the  inter- 
ests of  your  institution,  and  of  the  church  in  your  growing  state. 
If  inclination  alone  was  to  guide  me,  if  about  to  remove  from  this 
region,  my  views  would  turn  to  the  West,  not  on  my  own 
individual  account  so  much  as  on  account  of  my  sons,  whom  I 
must  leave  before  many  years,  and  leave,  too,  dependent  on  their 
own  efforts  to  gain  a  subsistence  in  life.  I  shall  have  nothing  to 
leave  them  that  would  exempt  them  from  these  efforts.  An 
education  is  all  that  I  can  furnish  myself  the  pleasure  of  giving 
them.  I  feel  a  very  deep  interest  in  the  progress  of  religion  and 
literature  in  your  state,  and  indeed  in  all  the  western  country.  It 
is  all  important  that  there  should  be  both  Theological  and  Literary 
Institutions  of  reputable  character  to  exert  a  favourable  influence 
on  the  growing  population  of  that  section  of  our  country.  I  shall 
be  pleased  to  hear  from  you  when  you  may  find  it  convenient. 

This  communication  gave  such  encouragement  that  the 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS   AND    EDUCATION.  239 

business  proceeded  without  embarrassment  in  the  Synod, 
and  Dr.  Matthews  was  named  unanimously  for  the  profes- 
sorship.* The  Virginia  pastor  accepted  the  call  to  Indiana 
and  at  once  began  to  devote  himself  to  the  interests  of  the 
divinity  school.  He  wrote  from  New  York,  March  15, 
1830,  to  Mr.  Johnston,  as  follows  : 

You  will  no  doubt  be  surprised  to  receive  a  letter  from  me, 
dated  in  this  city  ;  but  so  it  is.  I  am  here  as  an  agent  for  the  Han- 
over Theological  Seminary.  My  object  is  to  secure,  if  possible,  a 
moderate  salary  for  a  Tutor  or  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  in 
the  seminary.  This  proceeds  from  an  earnest  desire  that  the 
seminary  should  not  commence  without  an  assistant  in  this  depart- 
ment. I  have  supposed  that  if  it  was  known  that  there  was  such  a 
teacher  in  the  seminary  it  would  give  it  more  importance,  and 
give  a  pledge  that  young  men  could  receive  a  full  course  of  study 
for  the  ministry. 

The  plan  proposed  is  this  :  to  raise  five  hundred  dollars  for  five 
years,  and  I  now  hope  this  object  will  be  accomplished.  I  have 
already  obtained  thirteen  subscriptions  of  $2$  each  for  five  years. 
I  am  encouraged  to  believe  that  seven,  perhaps  ten,  more  can 
be  obtained.  The  clergymen  of  this  city,  to  whom  I  have  men- 
tioned the  plan,  cordially  approve  of  it,  and  Dr.  Spring  is  one  of 
the  subscribers.  If  the  plan  succeeds  I  shall  be  much  rejoiced. 
Nor  can  I  suppose  that  the  Synod  of  Indiana,  or  any  friend  of  the 
Seminary  will  object  to  it.  In  addition  to  the  annual  subscriptions 
I  will  receive  some  donations,  and  some  books  ;  but  to  what 
amount  is  yet  uncertain.  I  expect  to  spend  a  few  days  in  Phila- 
delphia and  in  Baltimore  in  the  same  agency.  I  find  I  am  a  poor 
agent ;  but  my  desire  to  secure  this  Assistant  induces  me  to  make 
the  effort.  A  young  man  can  be  obtained  from  Princeton  or 
elsewhere,  qualified  for  this  department.  I  have  supposed  that 
the  seminary  would  not  commence  till  next  fall,  probably  after  the 
meeting  of  your  Synod.  The  subscriptions  obtained  here  are 
payable  in  April  in  each  year,  and  the  first  payment  to  be  in  1831. 
This  is  the  time  proposed  by  the  subscribers  themselves  ;  and  I 
suppose  it  will  answer  the  purpose,  as  the  subscription  may  be 
relied  on. 

Your  letter  was  received  shortly  before  I  left  home,  which  was 
on   the    ist  inst.      Numerous   engagements   prevented   me   from 

1  Cf.  "  Minutes  Indiana  Synod,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  108,  109. 


240  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

writing  to  you  before  I  set  out,  and  besides,  I  did  not  know  but 
my  agency  would  be  an  entire  failure.  We  expect  to  remove 
some  time  in  the  month  of  May,  but  whether  in  the  early  or  latter 
part  is  yet  uncertain.  We  must  accomplish  the  journey,  if  possi- 
ble, before  the  season  for  steamboat  navigation  is  over.  I  expect 
to  find  a  letter  from  you  when  I  return  home,  and  will  then  write 
to  you  again,  and  give  you  the  result  of  my  agency,  and  if  possible 
fix  the  time  when  we  may  be  expected  in  Indiana. 

The  professors  at  Princeton  gave  me  their  cordial  approbation 
of  the  seminary  and  of  the  object  of  my  agency,  in  writing  ;  so  also 
did  some  of  the  clergy  of  Philadelphia.  Upon  the  whole  I  hope 
the  great  Head  of  the  church  will  bless  the  Hanover  Seminary, 
and  I  hope  its  friends  will  not  cease  to  pray  for  its  prosperity  and 
usefulness. 

Still  another  letter  to  Mr.  Johnston,  written  from  Shep- 
herdstown,  April  13,  1830,  indicates,  as  does  the  entire 
history,  how  insignificant  were  the  resources,  and  how- 
bold  and  enterprising  the  faith,  by  which  these  projects 
were  advanced  : 

I  hope  you  received  my  letter  from  New  York,  giving  an 
account  of  the  agency  I  had  undertaken  for  the  Hanover  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  The  result  of  that  agency  has  been  that  $500 
annually  for  five  years  has  been  secured,  the  first  payment  to  be 
in  April,  1831.  This  is  for  the  special  purpose  of  securing  the 
assistance  of  a  teacher  of  Biblical  Literature  in  the  seminary,  and 
this  it  is  believed  will  be  sufficient  for  this  purpose.  In  Philadel- 
phia |8o  has  been,  and  probably  |ioo  will  be  secured  annually  for 
five  years,  the  first  payment  in  May,  1830.  Eighty  dollars  of  this 
I  have  received.  With  this  |8o,  and  other  donations,  after 
deducting  my  expenses,  there  is  now  in  my  hands  I130  for  the 
seminary.  The  number  of  volumes  I  obtained  will  probably  be 
about  thirty,  some  of  them  valuable.  .  .  .  We  expect  to  com- 
mence our  removal  early  in  May — the  day  is  not  yet  fixed,  and 
will  reach  Madison,  with  the  favour  of  God,  some  time  from  the 
15th  to  the  20th  of  the  month. ^ 

Meanwhile  the  committee   designated   for   the  purpose 

1  These  manuscripts  of  Dr.  Matthews  all  painfully  indicate  how  serious  an  affliction 
must  have* been  that  "trembling  in  his  hands,"  referred  to  by  Dr.  Woods.  Cf. 
Sprague's  "  Annals,"  Vol.  IV.,  p.  294. 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  24I 

was   perfecting  a  plan  for   uniting  the  divinity  school  with 
the   Hanover  Academy,  and  in    1830  the   Synod  adopted 
their  report.      In  accordance  with  this  compact  the  trustees 
gave  to  the  Synod  the  supervision  of  the  academy,  upon 
condition    "that   the  Theological    Seminary   about  to  be 
erected    by    the    Synod    of    Indiana    shall    be   located    at 
Hanover  Academy,  or  its  immediate  vicinity,  in  Jefferson 
County,  .  .  .  the  seminary  being  considered  the  theological 
department  of  said  academy."     The  Synod  was  to  have 
the  whole  control  of  the  theological  department,  appoint- 
ing its  directors,  choosing  the   professors,   governing  the 
pupils,  and   managing  the  funds.     The  negotiations  were 
completed  by  the  selection  of  the  following  gendemen  to 
constitute   the  first  board  of    directors   of   the  seminary  : 
Ministers,    J.    F.    Crow,    J.    R.     Moreland,    William    W. 
Martin,  A.  Wylie,  L.  Cobb,  James  Thomson,  B.  C.  Cressy, 
Samuel     Gregg,     William     Sickels,     S.      R.     Alexander, 
Alexander  Williamson,  S.  G.  Lowry,  J.  M.  Dickey,  J.  H. 
Johnston,    C.    Butler  ;    Elders,   Samuel   Smock,    Jeremiah 
Sullivan,    Victor    King,    Alexander   Walker,     Samuel    S. 
Graham,  Williamson   Dunn,    Andrew  Wier,   Joseph  Hart, 
James   H.    Thomson,   W.    B.    Laughlin,    John   Hendricks, 
James  M.  Ray,  Ebenezer  Sharpe,  James  Scott,  and  Dr.  B. 
Bradley.      A  teacher  of  oriental  and  biblical  literature  was 
at  the  same  time  chosen,  John  W.  Cunningham  having  no 
competitor.      It  was  understood  that  he  should  be  permit- 
ted, upon  his  acceptance  of  the  place,  to  spend  six  months 
in  further  study  at  Andover.      It  was  also   resolved   "that 
the  salary  of  the  professor  of  theology  be  for  the  present 
fixed  at   six  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  and  that  it  com- 
mence on  the  first  day  of  May,  1830." 

The  inauguration  of  Dr.  Matthews  as  professor  of  theol- 
ogy occurred  June  29,  1831,  when  he  delivered  a  thought- 
ful address  upon  "  Ministerial  Qualifications."  ' 

1  This  discourse,  together  with  the  Rev.  B.  C.   Cressy's  address  on  the  same  occa- 
sion, was  printed  by  Arion  &  Lodge,  Madison,  183 1. 


242  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Financial  questions  of  course  at  once  began  to  assume  a 
commanding-  prominence.  Even  upon  the  modest  scale  of 
prices  suggested  by  the  chief  professor's  salary  more 
money  was  required  than  the  woods  of  Indiana  could  pro- 
vide. An  agent  was  accordingly  appointed  to  solicit  aid  in 
the  older  states — the  Rev.  Benjamin  C.  Cressy,  a  man 
of  scholarship  and  discretion.  At  Boston,  December, 
1832,  he  printed  an  appeal  for  the  seminary.      He  said  : 

The  prosperity  of  this  institution  has  thus  far  exceeded  the  most 
sanguine  anticipations  of  its  founders,  and  for  this  very  reason 
now  labors  under  the  most  serious  embarrassment.  Enlarged 
accommodations  are  immediately  needed  ;  but  to  go  forward  with- 
out the  prospect  of  assistance  will  be  presumption,  to  go  back  will 
blast  the  hopes  of  thousands.  Under  these  circumstances  we 
appeal  to  the  friends  of  learning  and  religion  to  aid  us.  Our  funds 
are  exhausted,  our  instructors  are  to  be  supported,  our  library 
is  small,  applications  for  the  reception  of  students  are  constantly 
increasing,  and  yet  we  have  more  already  than  we  have  room 
to  accommodate.  For  the  want  of  better  accommodations  many 
of  our  students  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  occupying 
contracted  log-cabins.  In  the  midst  of  difficulties,  with  a  spirit  of 
tireless  perseverance  and  great  personal  sacrifices,  the  professors 
"  have  labored  and  have  not  fainted."  The  friends  of  the  institu- 
tion in  the  vicinity  have  been  liberal,  and  are  ready  to  do  all 
in  their  power,  but  the  necessary  aid  cannot  there  be  obtained. 
And  what  shall  be  done  ?  .  .  .  We  believe  that  He,  whose  is 
the  silver  and  the  gold,  will  incline  the  friends  of  learning  and 
religion  to  aid  us  in  sustaining  this  enterprise.^ 

The  anticipations  of  adequate  financial  support  were  not 
realized.  At  the  Synod  in  1831  a  subscription  paper  was 
circulated,  once  and  again.  In  1832  there  is  mention 
of  one  agent  at  the  East,  and  of  another  ' '  to  enter  on  his 
agency  shortly,"  still  another  being  under  appointment  to 
visit  the  churches  at  home.  There  is  allusion  in  1833  to 
the  ' '  arrears  in  which  the  seminary  is  now  involved. ' '       It 

1  "  An  Appeal  in  Behalf  of  the  Indiana  Theological  Seminary  Located  at  South  Han- 
over, Indiana."     Boston,  1832. 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  243 

is  attempted  in  1834  to  unite  with  Indiana  the  Synods  of 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  Cincinnati,  and  Ohio  in  the  care  of  the 
seminary.  The  following  year  Dr.  Crowe  explains  a  plan 
to  raise  twelve  thousand  dollars  in  Indiana.  Similar  labo- 
rious methods  are  perseveringly  prosecuted,  including  as- 
sessments upon  the  Presbyteries  and  congregations— the 
difficulties  largely  increased  by  the  controversies  of  1838, 
until  in  1840  the  "proposition  of  Mr.  E.  Ayres  for  a 
change  in  the  plan  of  the  seminary"  was  adopted,  and  the 
institution  was  transferred  to  New  Albany. 

In  the  new  location  it  was  still  a  burden  upon  the  poverty 
of  this  new  region;  but  when  there  was  litde  money  there  was 
more  faith,  and  the  self-denying  work  of  professors  and  di- 
rectors was  rewarded  by  its  undoubted  utility.  The  ability 
of  the  faculty  was  conspicuous  and  the  spirit  with  which  they 
imbued  the  students  is  blessing  the  church  to-day.  For 
nearly  twenty  years  the  school  held  on,  always  hindered 
by  insufBcient  financial  resources,  until  in  1859,  amidst 
the  commotions  preceding  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  it 
was  committed  to  the  General  Assembly  and  by  that  body 
established  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  as  the  Seminary  of  the 
Northwest,  later  to  be  known  as  McCormick  Seminary.' 

John  Matthews,  who  received  the  first  appointment  to 

1  The  Assembly  of  1859  (Old  School)  held  its  sessions  at  Indianapolis.  On  Monday 
afternoon,  May  23,  the  order  of  the  day  was  taken  up— "the  report  of  the  Standing 
Committee  on  Theological  Seminaries  upon  the  papers  connected  with  the  transfer  of 
the  Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Northwest.  The  whole  report  of  the 
committee  was  read,  as  also  were  proposals,  from  different  localities,  of  gifts  of  money 
and  land  toward  the  endowment  of  this  institution,  and  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted  unanimously,  viz.: 

"  I.  Resolved,  That  in  accordance  with  the  overtures,  emanating  from  eight  Synods, 
this  Assembly  does  now  accept  the  direction  and  control  of  the  seminary  known  by  the 
corporate  name  and  style  of  the  Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Northwest.^ 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  this  Assembly  during  its  present  sessions  will  decide  by  a  majority 
of  the  votes  of  its  members,  what  place  within  the  limits  of  these  eight  Synods  be 
selected  as  the  seat  of  said  Seminary."—"  Minutes  Assembly  of  1859,"  pp.  516,  517. 

The  debates  affecting  the  seminary  were  protracted  and  noteworthy.  Besides  the 
problem  as  to  location  were  most  interesting  personal  matters,  while  the  jealousy  be- 
tween North  and  South,  everywhere  apparent  at  th^s  period,  added  to  the  heat. 


244  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  chair  of  theology  in  the  seminary,  was  born  in  Guilford 
County,  N.  C,  January  19,  1772.  His  father,  who  in 
early  life  had  emigrated  from  Ireland,  was  a  small  farmer. 
The  son,  having  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age  wrought 
at  various  mechanical  employments,  then  began  a  course 
of  study  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  David  Caldwell,  in  whose 
family  he  for  a  time  resided.  He  received  licensure, 
March,  1801,  from  the  Presbytery  of  Orange,  and  a  few 
months  later  went  as  a  missionary  to  Natchez,  Miss.  Re- 
turning in  1803  to  North  Carolina  he  became  pastor  of  the 
Nutbush  and  Grassy  Creek  churches.  Three  years  later, 
resigning  this  charge,  he  was  installed  over  the  church  in 
Martinsburg,  Va. ,  but  soon  afterward  received  an  urgent 
call  to  the  pulpit  at  Shepherdstown,  Va. ,  made  vacant  by 
the  transfer  of  Dr.  Hoge  to  the  presidency  of  Hampden 
Sidney  College.  This  church  he  continued  to  serve  until 
his  removal  to  Indiana,  a  period  of  twenty-four  years. 
During  portions  of  this  time  he  also  served  the  Charles- 
town  and  Martinsburg  churches,  preaching  frequently 
besides  at  Harper's  Ferry.  In  connection  with  the  semi- 
nary he  resided  at  Hanover,  and  at  New  Albany,  until  his 
death.  May  19,  1848. 

Dr.  Matthews  was  twice  married — December  8,  1803,  to 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Daniel,  of  Charlotte  County, 
Va. ;  and  in  April,  1818,  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James 
Wilson  of  Berkley  County,  Va.  Of  his  six  sons  three 
became  clergymen  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Besides  a  large  number  of  sermons  and  addresses,  and 
articles  in  literary  and  theological  journals,  Dr.  Matthews 
was  the  author  of  two  more  extended  treatises  entitled, 
"  Letters  on  the  Divine  Purpose  "  and  "  The  Influence  of 
the  Bible."  ' 

1  See  Sprague's  "Annals,"  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  292-4.  Letters  from  the  Rev.  Drs.  James 
Wood,  James  M.  Brown,  Samuel  B.  Wilson,  and  William  C.  Matthews  are  appended  to 
Sprague's  biographical  sketch. 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  245 

Born  in  revolutionary  times  Dr.  Matthews  was  the  contemporary 
and  friend  of  a  body  of  ministers,  including  Drs.  Alexander, 
Spence,  Waugh,  Moses  Hoge,  John  H.  Rice,  and  others,  whose 
solid,  scriptural,  spiritual  theology  constituted  them  almost  a 
distinct  school  of  divines.  Dr.  Matthews  was  the  peer  of  any  in 
that  honored  group  ;  and  it  is  scarcely  extravagant  to  say  that  had 
he  and  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  exchanged  places,  the  history  of 
the  church  had  not  been  materially  different.  The  great  charac- 
teristic of  his  mind  was  simplicity.  He  defined  everything  to  its 
ultimate  elements.  He  traced  everything  through  all  its  history 
to  its  remotest  possible  and  logical  uses.  His  mind  seemed  to  be 
a  case  of  pigeon-holes,  where  every  thought  seemed  to  lie  by 
itself,  wrapped  in  its  own  proper  word,  which  would  rarely,  if 
ever,  be  changed,  and  always  ready  for  immediate  use.  His 
power  of  definition  was  inimitable,  and  gave  him  signal  and 
speedy  success  in  controversy.  Whoever  in  debate  with  him 
failed  to  detect  mistake  or  fallacy  in  definitions  might  as  well 
concede  the  whole  argument.  His  sole  text-book  as  professor 
was  the  Confession  of  Faith,  out  of  which  he  drew  an  extensive 
scheme  of  both  didactics  and  polemics.  His  course  was  prefaced 
by  lectures  upon  mental  philosophy  and  logic,  as  bearing  upon  the 
ministerial  office  and  work.  His  method  was  the  Socratic,  both 
for  instruction  and  disputation.  His  observation  had  been  care- 
ful, his  experience  varied,  his  thinking  deliberate  and  thorough  ; 
so  that  while  never  voluble  he  was  always  ready  to  enter  at  once 
upon  any  train  of  remark  or  discussion,  and  always  with  the  right 
word  for  every  place.  His  promptitude  indeed  resembled  special 
preparation. 

Another  conspicuous  trait  in  the  character  of  Dr.  Matthews  was 
his  modesty.  He  shrank  from  no  duty,  but  he  sought  no  distinc- 
tion, no  fame,  and  even  avoided  publicity.  His  was  in  eminent 
degree  the  power  of  godliness.  The  first,  last,  and  deepest 
impression  left  upon  his  students,  his  friends,  and  his  neighbors, 
was  that  he  was  a  holy  man,  of  deep  and  rare  attainment  in  grace, 
of  rich  and  ripened  fruit  of  the  indwelling  spirit  of  Christ.^ 

Dr.  Matthews,  was  in  person  spare  and  tall.  While  in 
his  last  years  the  infirmities  of  age  manifestly  increased  he 
was  able  to    continue    active   labor    to    the    close   of   life. 

1  Dr.  J.  Edwards's  address  in  "  Services  of  the  Laying  of  the  Corner-Stone  and  Ad- 
dresses at  the  Dedication  of  the  Chapel  and  Library  of  the  Presbyterian  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Northwest."    24  pp. 


246  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Only  a  week  before  his  death  he  met  his  students  as 
usual  in  the  lecture  room.  Submitting,  however,  to  a 
surgical  operation  the  result  was  quickly  fatal. 

Erasmus  Darwin  MacMaster,  who  succeeded  Dr. 
Matthews  in  the  chair  of  theology,  was  a  man  of  pro- 
digious native  force.  His  individuality  of  feature  and 
form,  of  manner  and  mind,  would  have  commanded  atten- 
tion anywhere.  His  scholastic  attainments  were  of  a  high 
order.  Upon  the  arena  of  manly  conflict  his  weapons 
were  those  of  a  giant,  while  in  the  domestic  precinct  and 
in  the  circles  of  friendship  he  had  a  child's  simplicity  and 
a  woman's  tenderness.^  Of  Scotch  Covenanter  blood,  a 
son  of  the  Rev.  Gilbert  MacMaster,  long  pastor  of  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  Princeton,  Ind.,  he  was 
born  in  the  year  1806.  He  graduated  from  Union  College. 
While  pastor  at  Ballston  Spa,  N.  Y.,  he  attracted  the 
notice  of  representatives  of  Hanover  College,  Indiana, 
who  were  attending  a  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  New  York 
in  search  of  a  president  for  their  institution.  The  invita- 
tion which  they  extended  to  him  was  favorably  received, 
and  in  1838  he  removed  to  the  West.  An  agitation  for 
the  enlargement  of  the  institution  and  its  transfer  to 
Madison,  with  a  new  charter,  as  Madison  University, 
involved  Dr.  MacMaster  with  some  of  the  earliest  friends 
of  Hanover  who  clung  to  the  old  place  and  the  old  patient 
methods.^  In  1844  the  transfer  was  effected;  but  the 
lack  of  support  enforced  the  abandonment  of  the  enter- 
prise after  one  year  of  trial.  Thereupon  Dr.  MacMaster 
was  called  to  the  presidency  of  Miami  University  and 
took  up  his  residence  at  Oxford,  Ohio.     Upon  the  death 

1  An  old  friend  recalls  the  gracious  affectionateness  with  which  he  unfailingly 
greeted  his  sisters  on  retiring  for  the  night  and  when  he  met  them  in  the  morning. 

2  See  "  Speech  of  Mr.  MacMaster  in  the  Synod  of  Indiana,  October  4,  1844,  in 
relation  to  Madison  University,"  with  postscript.  Madison,  Jones  and  Lodge,  1844. 
39  pp. 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  247 

•of  Dr.  Matthews,  however,  the  Indiana  Seminary  looked 
at  once  to  him,  and  he  came  in  1849  to  New  Albany  as 
teacher  of  divinity.  Here  he  continued  for  ten  years,  and 
until  the  institution  was  established  by  the  Assembly  of 
1859  in  Chicago.  That  Assembly  was  an  animated  one. 
For  the  last  time,  in  full  force  and  with  undaunted 
•courage,  the  South  came  to  meet  their  brethren  of  the 
North.  In  that  stormy  period  everything  touched  in 
some  way  the  institution  of  slavery.^  When  it  came  to 
the  choice  of  professors  for  the  reorganized  divinity  school 
a  man  with  the  well-known  progressive  sentiments  of  Dr. 
MacMaster  was  sure  to  be  thrust  aside.  Out  of  two 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  votes  he  received  but  forty- 
five  for  the  chair  of  didactic  theology.  Thereupon  he 
went  into  retirement,  watching  silently  the  marvelous 
events  of  the  Civil  War,  which  brought  so  sudden  and 
complete  a  vindication.^  He  saw  the  Presbyterians  of  the 
North  all  facing  at  last,  and  many  of  them  facing  about, 
toward  his  platform.  He  was  no  longer  in  the  minority. 
At  St.  Louis  in  1866  the  General  Assembly  placed  him  in 
the  chair  for  which  he  was  so  eminently  fitted,  and  he  went 
to  Chicago  as  professor  of  theology.  He  had  hardly 
•entered  upon  his  duties,  however,  when  death  overtook 
him.  After  ten  days  of  suffering  he  expired,  December 
10,  1866.  His  death  was  as  remarkable  as  his  life  had 
been.  During  his  illness  his  mind  was  constantly  upon  the 
Scriptures.  He  repeated  passage  after  passage,  and,  it 
may  be  said,  chapter  after  chapter,  in  the  original  Greek. 

1  See  "  Speech  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  May  30,  1859, 
•on  the  Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Northwest,"  by  E.  D.  MacMaster. 
Cincinnati  Gazette  Co.  1859.  With  appendix.  40  pp.  Also,  "The  Late  General  Assembly 
and  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Northwest,"  by  "Alpha."  16  pp.  The  pubhc 
press  of  the  time  teemed  with  communications  from  well-sharpened  quills. 

2  Dr.  MacMaster  was  a  great  admirer  of  Bacon,  whose  portrait  adorned  the  wall  of 
his  study.  Underneath  the  picture,  in  the  doctor's  "  horrible  chirography,"  was  a 
•sentence  from  Bacon,  in  which  the  philosopher  declared  his  willingness  to  leave  his 
-character  to  the  judgment  of  posterity. 


248  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

He  had  the  unshaken  and  exulthig  confidence  of  Paul.  In- 
the  closing  moment  his  eyes  kindled  to  intense  brilliancy, 
his  hands  were  raised  as  if  in  surprise  and  adoration,  and 
to  his  brother  he  said :  "I  see  heaven  opened  and  Jesus 
standing  at  the  right  hand  of  God. ' '  These  were  his  last 
words. ' 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  P.  Humphrey,  who,  as  a  director 
of  the  seminary  at  New  Albany,  was  brought  into  close 
ofificial  relations  toward  him,  writes  ^  as  follows  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  : 

Dr.  MacMaster  had  an  imposing  personality.  He  was  very 
tall,  his  hair  was  thick  and  white,  his  countenance  open  and  full 
of  expression,  his  eyes  shining  with  thought  and  emotion.  In  his 
movements  he  was  deliberate  ;  not  graceful  but  dignified  ;  with  a 
certain  magisterial  air.  He  was  somewhat  reserved,  especially 
among  strangers.  I  doubt  whether  his  most  intimate  friends 
would  venture  to  take  undue  liberty  with  him.  And  yet  he  was 
polite  and  affable,  and  never  forgetful  of  even  the  minor  courtesies 
of  life  ;  always  a  model  Christian  gentleman. 

His  father  was  an  eminent  and  honored  minister  of  his  church — 
one  of  the  branches  of  the  kirk  of  Scotland  wherein  the  Presby- 
terianism  was  intensified ;  whose  right  to  be  rested  on  the 
assumption  that  it  was  the  best  representative  in  existence  of  the 
best  type  of  the  pure  and  unadulterated  old  faith.  The  mother 
was  a  person  of  marked  clearness  of  spiritual  vision  and  of  great 
force  of  character,  modified  by  womanly  gentleness.  The  son 
closely  resembled  her  in  his  best  qualities. 

Dr.  MacMaster  was  not  what  men  call  a  popular  preacher. 
Those  who  had  often  heard  him  preach  expected  from  him,  when 
they  went  to  hear  him  again,  a  sermon  full  of  weighty  matter,  the 
substance  and  the  arguments  and  illustrations  taken  from  the 
divine  word,  the  whole  arranged  with  the  skill  of  an  accomplished 
logician,  the  points  made  with  prodigious  clearness  and  force, 
rarely  lighted  up  with  a  touch  of  poetry  or  fancy  ;  although,  when 
the  current  of   thought  became  very  deep  and  rapid,   imagery 

1  The  "  remarkable  spiritual  vision  "  here  referred  to  is  vividly  remembered  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  George  L.  Spining,  who  was  a  pupil  of  Dr.  MacMaster's,  and  who  witnessed 
the  final  scene. 

2  Louisville,  Ky.,  March  i,  1886. 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  249 

•sometimes  came  to  the  surface,  clothed  with  Miltonic  grandeur.^ 
The  power  of  impassioned  exhortation  was  not  among  his  gifts. 
He  set  forth  the  matter  and  excellencies  of  the  gospel  offer  lucidly 
and  earnestly,  and  then  left  his  hearers  to  the  workings  of  the 
spirit  of  God  upon  their  consciences.  I  do  not  remember  to  have 
.seen  him  preach  a  written  sermon,  or  use  even  brief  notes.  He 
had  a  copious  vocabulary  at  his  command  and  never  faltered  for  a 
word. 

The  great  work  of  his  life  was  done  in  teaching  systematic 
theology  in  the  New  Albany  Seminary.  Few  men  have  been 
as  thoroughly  furnished  for  that  great  office  by  knowledge  of 
the  divine  word,  by  thorough  inward  conviction  of  the  agreement 
of  the  Presbyterian  system  of  doctrine  with  that  word,  and  by  a 
gift  of  teaching  every  way  admirable.  His  method  was  his  own. 
The  topic  for  the  day  had  been  previously  announced;  the  students 
were  expected  to  gather,  from  the  Scriptures  and  from  other 
sources,  information  as  full  as  possible  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  in 
hand.  Dr.  MacMaster  took  the  chair,  with  no  table  before  him, 
no  printed  book  or  written  memorandum  in  his  hand.  The 
students  were  seated  in  a  semi-circle  near  by.  They  were  called 
on,  in  their  order,  to  answer  questions  proposed  by  the  teacher — 
these  questions  so  formed  as  to  elicit  the  knowledge  or  the  igno- 
rance of  the  pupil,  his  difficulties,  and  his  mistakes,  arising  from 
confusion  of  thought  or  from  imperfect  definitions.  The  teacher, 
too,  was  ready  to  be  interrogated.  An  animated  conversation 
was  likely  to  spring  up,  leading  to  inquiry  and  thought  and 
private  study.  Such  a  mode  of  teaching  would  be  a  failure  in  the 
hands  of  some  men  ;  but  Dr.  MacMaster  was  too  full  of  resources 
to  fail,  too  clear  in  his  conceptions,  too  ready  and  patient  in  his 
dealing  with  the  quick-witted  and  the  plodding  ;  correcting  the 
over-complacent  and  encouraging  the  diffident.  His  pupils  to  this 
day  talk  about  the  clearness  of  his  spiritual  and  intellectual  vision, 
his  love  of  truth,  his  eagerness  in  its  exposition  and  defense, 
his  skill  in  detecting  subtle  and  dangerous  errors  in  religion,  and 

1  Dr.  Mac  Master's  public  prayers  must  have  had  something  of  the  character  of  the  dis- 
courses here  described  by  Dr.  Humphrey.  On  a  single  occasion  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  and  hearing  Dr.  MacMaster.  A  year  before  his  death  he  was  present  at  a  union 
morning  prayer-meeting  of  the  two  Synods  (Old  and  New  School)  of  southern  Indiana, 
in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Madison.  He  was  called  upon  to  offer  prayer.  Even 
his  name  had  been  previously  unknown  to  me  ;  but  the  thought  and  language  and  tone 
of  the  prayer  at  once  enchained  attention.  It  was  a  body  of  divinity — deliberate,  system- 
atic, progressive,  complete.  Its  intellectuality  would  have  seemed  out  of  place  but  for 
the  masterful  lighting  up  of  Scripture  which  it  embodied,  together  with  a  certain  awful 
worshipfulness.     I  judge  that  the  prayer  must  have  occupied  the  greater  part  of  an  hour. 


250  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the   exceptionable,    stimulating   effect   of  his  mode    of  teaching. 
When  to  all  this  we  add  testimony  to  his  blameless  Christian 
life,  his  unstained  honor  and  integrity  in  the  sight  of  all  men,  we 
have  before  us  the  image  of  an  eminent  servant  of  God. 

John  W.  Cunningham,  the  first  professor  of  sacred 
rhetoric  in  the  seminary,  after  a  few  years  sought  the  more 
congenial  work  of  the  pastorate,  continuing  it  until  his 
death. 

George  B.  Bishop  was  Mr.  Cunningham's  successor. 
He  was  a  fine  scholar,  an  admirable  teacher,  and  withal  a 
fearless,  pungent  preacher.  But  coming  to  the  professor- 
ship with  health  already  impaired  by  study,  his  career  was 
short. 

James  Wood,  another  professor  in  this  chair,  was  more 
than  a  professor. 

He  was  an  unwearied  and  successful  soliciting  agent.  He  was 
the  careful  superintendent  of  the  seminary's  property.  He  kept 
the  refectory.  He  gave  or  got  assistance  for  ever>^  indigent  or 
troubled  student.  He  was  a  fair  scholar,  but  was  a  better  theo- 
logian and  preacher  than  exegete.  He  had,  too,  that  kindly  tact, 
that  Christian  art  of  "  putting  things  "  which  enabled  him  to  bear 
his  part  in  a  heated  controversy  with  calmness,  firmness,  and 
without  bitterness. 

Thomas  Ebenezer  Thomas,  Lewis  W.  Green, 
William  M.  Scott,  and  Philip  Lindsley  are  all  well- 
known  and  honored  names  which  belong  to  a  later  period 
of  the  seminary's  history. 

Wabash  College  was  established  a  litde  after  the  close 
of  the  era  to  which  these  sketches  particularly  refer.  It 
would,  however,  be  inappropriate  to  conclude  a  chapter 
relating  to  Presbyterian  education  in  Indiana  without  some 
mention  of  an  institution  which  has  had  so  successful  a 
career  and  now  stands  almost  alone  in  the  state  as  to  the 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  25 1 

fulness    of    its    endowments    and    the    promise    of    future 
enlargement. 

This  college  owes  its  origin  to  the  counsels  and  efforts  of  five 
home  missionaries,  who  early  selected  the  upper  Wabash  valley 
as  their  field  of  labor.  One  of  the  earliest  to  agitate  this  subject 
was  Rev.  James  Thomson,  who  settled  in  Crawfordsville,  Novem- 
ber, 1827,  and  others  connected  with  Crawfordsville  Presbytery, 
then  embracing  most  of  the  country  of  the  upper  Wabash,  who 
often  spoke  to  each  other  of  the  importance  of  a  timely  effort  to 
plant  an  institution  of  learning,  under  good  religious  influence, 
and  after  the  model  of  those  planted  by  the  fathers  in  the  older 
portions  of  the  country.  It  was  not,  however,  till  the  autumn  of 
1832  that  any  definite  measures  were  taken  to  carry  the  design 
into  effect.  The  first  meeting  on  this  subject  was  held  at  the 
house  of  Rev.  James  Thomson,  November  21,  1832.  Present  at 
this  meeting  were  Rev.  Messrs.  James  Thomson,  James  A.  Carna- 
han,  John  S.  Thomson,  Edmund  O.  Hovey,  and  John  M.  Ellis, 
together  with  Messrs.  John  Gilliland,  Hezekiah  Robinson,  and 
John  McConnel. 

The  deliberadons  of  this  meeting  resulted  in  the  unanimous 
resolution  that  efforts  should  be  made  without  delay  to  establish 
at  Crawfordsville  an  institution  of  learning  in  connection  with 
manual  labor.  At  that  time  there  was  no  literary  institution, 
either  located  or  projected,  in  this  state  north  of  Bloomington. 
Some  of  the  considerations  that  showed  the  importance  of  the 
measure  determined  upon  at  that  meeting  are  stated  in  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  written  afterward  by  one  of  the 
persons  who  shared  in  its  deliberations  :  "  Being  at  that  time  an 
agent  of  the  American  Education  Society,  I  became  acquainted 
with  the  painful  destitution  of  educated  ministers  in  Indiana,  and 
I  learned  from  the  brethren  that  they  had  been  urging  the  moral 
destitutions  of  the  state  on  the  attention  of  eastern  churches  and 
theological  seminaries,  imploring  their  aid  in  sending  more 
laborers  into  the  great  field  whitening  for  the  harvest.  And  that 
for  these  four  years  of  entreaty,  only  two  additional  ministers  could 
be  obtained.  This  was  a  most  depressing  demonstration  that 
the  East  could  not  be  relied  on  to  furnish  pastors  for  the  teeming 
multitudes  of  this  great  state.  At  the  same  time  it  was  found  that 
there  were  some  twelve  or  fifteen  pious  young  men,  of  the  best 
promise,  in  the  churches  of  the  Wabash  country,  who  would  study 
for  the  ministry  could  they  but  have  the  facilities  of  education. 


252  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

This  seemed,  in  those  circumstances,  the  clearest  providential 
indication  to  found  a  college  for  the  education  of  such  young  men." 

A  committee,  to  act  temporarily  as  trustees  of  the  institution, 
was  appointed  at  this  meeting.  A  liberal  subscription  was 
obtained  from  the  citizens  of  Crawfordsville,  a  tract  of  fifteen 
acres  of  land  was  donated  by  Hon.  Williamson  Dunn,  upon  which 
the  trustees,  having  selected  a  site  for  the  building  in  the  forest, 
in  the  midst  of  nature's  unbroken  loneliness,  consecrated  this 
enterprise  for  the  furtherance  of  virtue  and  knowledge  among 
mankind,  to  God,  and  solemnly  invoked  upon  it  the  divine 
blessing. 

Measures  were  shortly  afterward  adopted  for  the  erection  of  a 
suitable  building  for  the  preparatory  department  of  the  institu- 
tion. The  trustees  appointed  Mr.  Caleb  Mills,  then  a  theological 
student  at  Andover,  Mass.,  as  the  principal  of  the  preparatory 
department  and  Teachers'  Seminary,  under  whose  instruction  the 
institution,  in  this  form,  went  into  operation  December  3,  1833, 
with  twelve  students,  nine  of  whom  were  professed  Christians. 

In  January,  1834,  application  was  made  to  the  state  legislature 
for  a  charter,  which  was  granted,  under  the  name  of  "Wabash 
Manual  Labor  College  and  Teachers'  Seminary."  One  feature  of 
this  charter  —  that  requiring  the  trustees  to  provide  manual 
labor  for  the  students — has,  in  a  subsequent  modification  of  it, 
been  laid  aside  ;  the  other  is  retained,  and  deemed  of  prime 
importance. 

The  enterprise  thus  commenced  was  prosecuted  with  unremit- 
ting zeal.  By  proper  efforts  at  the  West  and  at  the  East,  funds 
were  obtained  ;  as  the  number  of  students  increased  additional 
teachers  were  appointed  ;  regular  college  classes  were  formed  ;  a 
president  for  the  institution — Rev.  Elihu  W.  Baldwin,  of  New 
York — a  man  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  work  to  which  he  was  called, 
was  secured  ;  the  erection  of  a  large  college  edifice  was  entered 
upon,  and,  in  the  fall  of  1838,  was  completed  ;  a  library  was 
collected  and  a  philosophical  apparatus  commenced.  Everything 
promised  prosperity  ;  but  reverses  and  trials  were  at  hand.  This 
edifice,  just  completed,  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  library  and 
apparatus  were  consumed  with  it,  causing  a  loss  of  not  less  than 
$15,000.  This  loss  occurring  at  a  period  of  great  commer- 
cial embarrassment,  involved  the  necessity  of  procuring  a  loan 
of  |8,ooo,  in  addition  to  all  the  funds  that  could  be  obtained 
by  voluntary  contribution.  The  debt  thus  incurred  was  a  crushing 
incubus  on  the  enterprise  for  eight  years.     In  the  mean  time,  a 


INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANS    AND    EDUCATION.  253 

loss  Still  more  deeply  felt  was  occasioned  by  the  death  of  the 
beloved  president  of  the  college,  which  occurred  October  15,  1840. 
But  amid  these  discouragements,  the  friends  of  Wabash  College 
yielded  not  to  despondency.  A  successor  to  Dr.  Baldwin,  in 
every  respect  worthy  of  the  position  which  had  been  made 
vacant  by  his  death,  was  found  in  Rev.  Charles  White,  D.D.,  who 
entered  on  the  duties  of  president  in  the  fall  of  1841,  and  whose 
useful  and  efficient  labors  for  the  advancement  of  the  institution 
were  continued  for  a  period  of  twenty  years.  The  college  was 
also  relieved,  at  length,  from  the  pressure  of  its  pecuniary  embar- 
rassments. Through  the  liberality  of  individuals,  means  were 
furnished,  in  1846,  for  the  liquidation  of  the  debt  that  bore  so 
heavily  upon  it.  Important  aid  has  been  received  also  from  the 
"Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Collegiate  and  Theological  Educa- 
tion at  the  West."  Liberal  donations  for  founding  professorships 
have  recently  been  made.^ 

Under  the  administrations  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  F. 
Tuttle,  Dr.  White's  successor,  and  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  George 
S.  Burroughs,  now  at  the  head  of  the  institution,  the 
advance  has  been  continuous.^ 

1  Johnston's  "  Historical  Discourse,"  pp.  23-6. 

2  See  also  Hovey's  "  Historical  Sketch  of  Wabash   College,"   Dr.  Tuttle's  baccalau- 
reate of  1876,  and  various  similar  sketches  by  Dr.  Tuttle. 


APPENDIX. 

I. 

Missionary  Agencies  at  Work  in  Indiana 
Previous  to  1826. 

Transylvania  Presbytery  issued  the  first  commission' 
to  a  missionary  to  Indiana.  This  action  was  taken  at 
Danville,  April  14,  1803.      (Cf.  Chapter  III.) 

In  its  care  for  the  "regions  beyond"  the  General 
Assembly  was  not  much  behind.  An  appointment  was 
made  in  1805  (see  Assembly's  minutes)  for  three  months' 
missionary  service  "in  the  Indian  {sic)  Territory,"  etc. 
At  its  first  meeting,  May  21,  1789,  the  General  Assembly 
had  taken  under  consideration  the  work  of  missions,  and 
each  of  the  four  synods  was  directed  to  name  to  the  next 
Assembly  two  persons  qualified  to  serve  as  missionaries  on 
the  frontier.  The  Presbyteries  were  instructed  to  make 
collections  for  the  support  of  the  missionaries.  In  May, 
1790,  several  appointments  of  missionaries  were  accord- 
ingly made,  western  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  being 
then  on  the  extreme  frontier  line.  Similar  appointments 
were  made  by  the  successive  Assemblies  until  1802.  At 
that  time,  the  importance  and  extent  of  the  enterprise 
having  greatly  increased,  it  was  resolved  "that  a  com- 
mittee be  chosen  annually  by  the  General  Assembly,  to  be 
denominated  '  The  Standing  Committee  of  Missions  ' ;  that 
this  committee  shall  consist  of  seven  members,  of  whom 
four  shall  be  clergymen  and  three  laymen."  To  this 
committee  were  entrusted  the  appointment  and  oversight 

255 


256  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  missionaries  and  the  general  management  of  missionary 
work  during  the  recess  of  the  Assembly.  The  committee 
continued  its  labors  with  great  success  until  1816,  when 
the  Assembly  organized  "the  Board  of  Missions  acting 
under  the  authority  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States." 

Of  the  voluntary  organizations  which  sent  early  aid 
to  the  Indiana  wilderness  the  Connecticut  Missionary 
Society  was  perhaps  the  most  prominent.  The  General 
Association  of  Connecticut  is  composed  of  delegates  from 
each  of  the  local  associations  in  the  state  and  seems  to 
have  held  its  first  meeting  at  Hartford  in  1709.  Soon  after 
the  War  of  the  Revolution  great  numbers  of  the  people  of 
Connecticut  having  emigrated  westward,  attention  was 
directed  to  their  religious  wants,  and  in  1795  the  associa- 
tion issued  an  address  to  the  new  settlements  making 
known  their  purpose  to  send  them  "  settled  ministers,  well 
reputed  in  the  churches,  to  preach  among  them  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ,  and  as  occasion  might  offer  to 
gather  and  organize  churches,  to  administer  sealing  ordi- 
nances, to  instruct  their  young  people,  catechize  their 
children,  and  perform  all  those  ministerial  duties  which  are 
usually  practiced  in  the  churches  and  congregations  of 
Connecticut."  Previous  to  this  period,  however,  a  few 
missionaries  had  been  sent  out,  the  first  apparently  in 
1788.  Until  1798  the  General  Association  conducted 
directly,  during  its  annual  sessions,  its  missionary  enter- 
prises, as  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  for  a  time  was  accustomed  to  do.  But  at  the 
meeting  in  June,  1798,  the  association  organized  itself  into 
a  missionary  society,  with  a  board  of  trustees  empowered 
to  conduct  its  business.  The  object  of  the  society  was  "  to 
Christianize  the  heathen  in  North  America  and  to  support 
and  promote  Christian  knowledge  in  the  new  settlements 


APPENDIX.  257 

within  the  United  States."  This  organization  had  from 
the  first  a  most  efficient  management,  and  after  more  than 
twenty  years  of  great  activity  formed  an  important  nucleus 
of  the  later  national  society. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  in  New- 
England  and  New  York  especially,  a  large  number  of 
state,  district,  county,  and  city  mission  societies  were 
founded.  Among  these  was  the  "Young  Men's  Mis- 
sionary Society"  of  New  York  City.  It  had  been 
organized  January  23,  1809,  ^s  the  "Assistant  New  York 
Missionary  Society,"  changing  its  name  as  above  indicated 
in  1 816.  This  society  became  tributary  to  the  "United 
Domestic  Missionary  Society"  of  New  York,  soon  after 
the  organization  of  the  latter. 

The  "United  Domestic  Missionary  Society"  of 
New  York,  a  combination  of  a  number  of  smaller  societies 
of  different  religious  denominations,  was  established  in 
New  York  City  in  May,  1822.  The  fourth  and  last  annual 
report  of  the  society  shows  that  during  the  year  preceding 
they  had  aided  127  missionaries,  four  of  whom  were  in 
Indiana.  In  connection  with  the  meeting  of  the  society 
May  12,  1826,  a  convention  was  held  to  consider  the  pro- 
priety of  associating  in  a  single  organization  the  kindred 
missionary  societies  throughout  the  country,  and  it  was 
finally  resolved  "that  the  recommendation  of  the  conven- 
tion be  adopted,  and  that  the  United  Domestic  Missionary 
Society  now  become  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society,  under  the  constitution  recommended  by  the 
convention."  The  convention  was  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives from  the  states  of  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Kentucky,  South  Carolina, 
Alabama,   and  Arkansas.      Its   object  was   declared  to  be 


258  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

"to  assist  congregations  that  are  unable  to  support  the 
gospel  ministry,  and  to  send  the  gospel  to  the  destitute 
within  the  United  States." 

The  Indiana  Missionary  Society  was  formed  at  a 
meeting  of  the  friends  of  missions  held  at  Livonia  on 
the  first  Friday  of  August,  1822,  according  to  a  recom- 
mendation of  Louisville  Presbytery.  The  organization  was 
tributary  to  the  Assembly's  Committee  of  Missions.  Little 
was  done  the  first  year  besides  the  establishment  of  a  few 
auxiliary  associations.  During  the  second  year  ten  weeks 
of  missionary  labor  were  accomplished.  The  third  year 
the  society  had  in  its  employ  six  missionaries  resident 
within  its  bounds.  Afterward  its  missionaries  were  found 
in  every  part  of  the  state.  At  the  annual  meeting  in 
August,  1826,  the  constitution  was  so  amended  as  to  make 
the  society  auxiliary  to  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society ;  and  the  missionaries  sent  by  the  parent  society  to 
Indiana  were  located  by  the  standing  committee  of  the 
auxiliary.  (See  Dickey's  "Brief  History,"  pp.  18,  19.) 
Among  the  officers  of  the  society  were  the  Rev.  Samuel 
T.  Scott,  president  ;  Dr.  Isaac  Coe,  the  Hon.  James  Scott, 
the  Hon.  William  Hendricks,  and  General  Homer  Johns- 
ton, vice-presidents;  the  Rev.  William  W.  Martin,  record- 
ing secretary ;  and  the  Rev.  Isaac  Reed,  corresponding 
secretary.  The  Rev.  John  M.  Dickey  was  chairman  of 
the  standing  committee. 


II. 

Ecclesiastical  Relations  of  the  Indiana  Congre- 
gations Previous  to  1826. 

I.     Transylvania  Presbytery,   constituted  May  17, 
1786,  by  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  had  no 


APPENDIX.  259 

definite  northern  limits,  but  exercised  jurisdiction  over  the 
Indiana  territory. 

2.  With  the  consent  of  the  Synod  of  Virginia  Transyl- 
vania Presbytery  was  separated  (March  27,  1799)  into  the 
three  Presbyteries  of  Transylvania,  West  Lexington,  and 
Washington.  The  last-named  Presbytery  comprised  that 
part  of  Kentucky  lying  northeast  of  Main  Licking  and 
the  settleTuent  on  the  northwest  side  of  the  Ohio  River.  At 
this  time,  as  also  in  1802  when  from  these  Presbyteries  the 
Synod  of  Kentucky  was  constituted,  there  were  no  Presby- 
terian churches  in  Indiana,  and  this  region  was  evidently 
not  considered  in  defining  the  Presbyterial  boundaries. 

3.  Miami  Presbytery  was  erected  in  18 10  (from  Wash- 
ington) and  in  181 5  the  General  Assembly  granted  a 
petition  of  the  Synod  of  Ohio  (constituted  in  18 14)  to 
make  the  Ohio  River  the  boundary  between  the  Synods  of 
Kentucky  and  Ohio.  This  action  placed  the  Indiana 
churches  within  the  limits  of  Miami  Presbytery.  In  181 1 
(October  15)  the  Presbytery  of  Muhlenburg  was,  how- 
ever, permitted  to  "extend  its  bounds  so  as  to  include 
Mr.  Scott  at  Vincennes." 

4.  In  18 1 7  the  dividing  line  between  the  Synods  of 
Kentucky  and  Ohio  was  changed  by  the  Assembly  so  as 
to  include  within  the  bounds  of  the  latter  so  much  of  the 
former  Synod  as  lay  within  the  state  of  Indiana,  west  of  a 
line  drawn  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  Kentucky  River. 
Most  of  the  Indiana  churches  thus  came  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Louisville  Presbytery  (formed  from  Transylvania 
in  1814),  a  few  preaching  stations  like  Rising  Sun  and 
Lawrenceburgh,  east  of  the  line  indicated,  being  still  left 
within  the  boundaries  of  Miami. 

5.  By  an  act  of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,  October,  1823, 
all  that  part  of  Indiana  previously  within  the  limits  of 
Louisville  Presbytery  was  constituted  into  the  new  Presby- 
tery of  Salem. 


26o  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

6.  In  October,  1824,  that  part  of  the  state  of  Indiana 
which  Hes  south  and  west  of  the  following  lines,  viz. : 
beginning  opposite  the  mouth  of  Green  River,  running 
due  north  twenty  miles,  thence  northwestwardly  to  the 
mouth  of  White  River,  was  attached  to  Muhlenburg 
Presbytery.  At  the  same  time  that  part  of  the  state  of 
Illinois  belonging  to  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  which  lies 
north  of  line  due  west  from  the  mouth  of  White  River 
was  added  to  Salem  Presbytery. 

7.  By  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,  October,  1825,  two 
new  Presbyteries  were  formed,  Wabash  on  the  west  and 
Madison  on  the  east,  and  with  Salem  and  Missouri 
Presbyteries  were  constituted  by  the  General  Assembly, 
May  29,  1826,  into  the  Synod  of  Indiana. 


III. 
Bibliography. 

Dickey,  John  M.  :  Bi-ief  History  of  the  Presbyteriayi 
Church  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  Madison,  printed  by 
C.  P.  J.  Arion,  1828. 

Reed,  Isaac  :  The  Christian  Traveller,  in  five  parts,  i7i- 
cluding  nine  years  and  eighteen  thousand  miles.  New 
York,  printed  by  J.  and  J.  Harper,  82  Clif^  St., 
1828. 

Hall,  Baynard  R.  :  The  New  Purchase ;  or,  Seven  and 
■a  Half  Years  in  the  Far  West.  By  Robert  Carlton, 
Esq.  2  vols.  New  York,  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  200 
Broadway.  Philadelphia,  George  S.  Appleton,  148 
Chestnut  St.,  1843.  Second  edition,  two  volumes  in 
one  (with  portrait).  New  Albany,  Ind.,  John  R. 
Nunemacher.  Also  tlm^d  edition,  revised  by  the 
author. 


APPENDIX.  261 

Bishop,  Robert  H.  :  An  Outliyie  History  of  the  Presby- 
terian Chicrch  in  Kentucky,  co7itaining  the  Memoirs  of 
Rev.  David  Rice.      Lexington,  1824. 

Humphrey,  Edward  P.,  and  Cleland,  Thomas  H.  : 
Memoirs  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Cleland,  D.  D. ,  compiled 
from  his  private  papers.  Cincinnati,  Moore,  Wil- 
stach,  Keys  &  Co.,  printers,  25  West  Fourth  St., 
1859- 

Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher  :  Men  of  Our  Times.  Hart- 
ford Publishing  Company,  1868. 

Baldridge,  Samuel  C.  :  Sketches  of  the  Life  ajid  Times 
of  the  Rev.  Stephen  Bliss,  A.M.,  with  7iotices  of  his 
co-laborers.  Cincinnati,  Ehii  Street  Printing  Com- 
pany,   1870. 

McClung,  John  Alexander  :  Sketches  of  Western  Ad- 
jy/^  venture,  containing  an  Account  of  the  most  i7iteresting 
hicidents  coiinected  with  the  Settlement  of  the  West,  from, 
^755  ^^  ^794-  Also  additional  Sketches  of  Adventure., 
and  a  Biography  of  f.  A.  McClung,  by  H.  Waller. 
Covington,  1872. 

Morris,  B.  F.  :  Review  of  Ten  Years'  Service  with  the 
Main  Street  Presbyter ia7i  Church  a7id  Congregation  of 
Risi7ig  Su7i,  I7idia7ia,  from  April,  1844,  to  April, 
18^4.     Williamson  &  Doyle,  printers.      8  pp. 

Post,  M.  M.:  A  Retrospect  after  Thi7iy  Years'  Mi7iistry 
at  Loga7isport,  I7idia7ia.  Logansport,  published  by 
T.  H.  Bringhurst,  i860.      24  pp. 

McCarer,  W.  H.  :  Rei7ie77ibra7ice  of  Past  Days.  Evans- 
ville.  Journal  Company,  i860.      26  pp. 

Johnston,  James  H.  :  A  Mi7iistry  of  Fo7iy  Years  i7i  bi- 
dia7ia.  Indianapolis,  Holloway,  Douglass  &  Co., 
1865.      30  pp. 


262  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Bishop,  John  M.  :  Ed.  Salem  Presbytery  Reporter,  Vol. 
I.,  No.  I.      New  Albany,  April,  1850.      32  pp. 

Law,  John:  The  Colonial  History  of  Vincenyies,  iinder  the 
Freiich,  British  and  American  Governments  from  its 
first  Settlemeyit  down  to  the  Territorial  Ad7ninistration 

J  of  General  W.  H.  Harrisoji.  Being  ayi  Address 
V  before  the  Vince7ines  Histot'ical  and  Antiquarian 
Society,  with  Additional  Notes  and  Illustrations .  Vin- 
cennes,  1858. 

Williams,  J.  L. :  Historical  Sketch  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church,  Fort  Wayne,  Lidiana,  with  Early 
Remiyiiscences  of  the  Place.  A  Lecture  before  the 
Congregation,  March  7,  i860.  John  W.  Dawson, 
printer.  27  pp.  The  same  revised,  and  read  before 
the  Congregation,  October  16,  1881,  the  semi-centen- 
nial of  its  organization.  Daily  News  Printing  House. 
28  pp. 

Cleland,  p.  S.  :  y4  Quarter- Century  Discourse,  delivered 
at  Greeiiwood,  Indiana,  December  18,  1864.,  at  the 
Twenty-fifth  Anniversary  of  his  Ministiy  to  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  that  place.  Indianapolis,  Hollo- 
way,  Douglass  &  Co.,  printers,  1865.     31  pp. 

HovEY,  Horace  C.  :  The  Origin  ajid  Growth  of  Presby- 
teria7iism  in  New  Albariy  (printed  in  the  New  Albany 
Ledger,  November  25,  1867). 

Banta,  D.  D.  :  Historical  Address  delive7'ed  i7i  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Fra7ikli7i,  Lidia7ia,  Nove77iber 
30,  1874.     43  pp. 

MoNFORT,  J.  G. :  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Gree7isburg,  Lidiayia.  Cincinnati,  Elm 
Street  Printing  Company,  1870.      32  pp. 

MoNFORT,  J.  G. :  Presbyte7^ianis7n  North  of  the  Ohio,  an 
Histo7'ical  Discourse  delivered  171  the  Seco7id  Presby- 


APPENDIX.  263 

terian  CImrch  of  Cmciyinati  April  9,  iSyz,  bei7ig  the 
Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Presbytery  of  Cincinnati. 
Cincinnati,  1872.      12  pp. 

Edson,  Hanford  a.:  The  Chnrch  God's  Buildiyig,  an 
Historical  Discourse  delivered  December  22,  i86y,  at 
the  opening  of  the  New  Chapel  of  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Chnrch,  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  Indianapolis, 
Douglass  &  Conner,  1868.      18  pp. 

"Greene,  James  :  Semi- Centennial  Anriiversary  of  the 
Establishment  of  Sunday-schools  in  Indianapolis,  with 
Historical  Sketch  of  the  Origin  and  Prog^^ess  of  the 
Indianapolis  Sabbath-schools.      April  6,  1873.      33  pp. 

CoNDiT,  Blackford  :  Historic  Discourse  delivered  at  the 
Quarter-  Century  Anniversary  of  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Church,  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  December  27, 
1873.      Cincinnati,  1874.      23  pp. 

•Cheever,  William  M.  :  Anniversary  Sermo7i  delivered 
at  the  Quai'ter- Century  Anniversary  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  Decem- 
ber 28,  1873.      Cincinnati,   1874.      22  pp. 

Ranney,  Joseph  A. :  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Delphi,  Carroll  County,  Indiana,  being  a  discourse 
preached  by  the  Pastor  of  the  Church,  November  28, 
i8'/S'     La  Fayette,  Ind.,  1875.      16  pp. 

Dickey,  N.  S.  :  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Columbus,  Indiana  (printed  in  the  Columbus  Repub- 
lican, January  7,  1875). 

:    The  Sidney  Centennial  fubilee  (containing 

memorials  of  the  Johnston  family),  Ann  Arbor,  1875. 

Hutchison,  J.  M. :  The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  and  its  history  (printed  in 
the  Louisville  Courier -fouriial,  July  10,  1876). 


264  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Neal,  Stephen,  and  Bishop,  John  M.  :  A71  Address  con- 
taming  the  History  of  Boone  Connty  from  its  Organi- 
zation to  the  Present,  delivered  at  Lebanon,  Indiana, 
July  4,  1S76 ;  and  a  Sermon  on  the  History  and 
Growth  of  Presbyterianism  in  Boone  County,  Indiajia, 
delivered  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Lebanon, 
Lidiana,  July  2,  iSyd.      Lebanon,  Ind.,  1876.      16  pp. 

Simpson,  W.  H.  :  Historical  Sermon,  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Madison,  Lidiana,  preached  July  16,  iSyS. 
Printed  by  Bert  S.  Ailing,  Amateur  Banner  Office, 
Madison,  Ind.      10  pp. 

Sluter,  George  :  Our  Beloved  Church :  Historical  Re- 
view, First  Presbyterian  Church,  Shelbyville,  Lidiayia^ 
Shelby ville,  Ind.,  R.  Spicer,  printer,   1876.      27  pp. 

Sluter,  George  :  History  of  Shelby  County,  Lidiana, 
from  1822  to  1876,  by  a  Committee  of  Citizens.  Shel- 
byville, Ind.,  R.  Spicer,  printer,  1876.      40  pp. 

Post,  E.  H.  :  Forty -four  Years  in  the  History  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Danville,  Lidiana.  A  Cen- 
tennial Discourse,  Sunday,  June  4,  i8j6.  Danville, 
Union  Job  Office,  1876.      12  pp. 

Hogue,  a.  a.  :  Ayi  Historical  Discourse  preached  i7i  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  Lebarion,  Kentucky,  i8^y. 
Louisville,  Hull  &  Brother,  1859.      16  pp. 

TuTTLE,  Joseph  F.  :  Presbyterianism  on  the  Frontiers, 
reprinted  from  the  Presbyterian  Quarterly  and  Prince- 
ton Review,  July,  iSjy.      25  pp. 

Bishop,  John  M.  :  Life  in  Lidiana  at  Threescore.  Leb- 
anon, 1879.      17  pp. 

Wishard,  S.  E.  :  Ed.  History  of  the  Half  Century  Cele- 
bration of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Franklin,. 
Lidiana.      Cincinnati,  1874. 


APPENDIX.  265 

Banta,  D.  D.  :  Making  a  Neighborhood,  delivered  at  the 
Shiloh  Reunion,  May  26,  1887.  Franklin,  Ind.  49 
pp. 

Reed,  Isaac  :  A  Fiiyieral  Sermon,  occasioned  by  the  Early 
Death  of  Mr.  John  Yonng,  Missionary  to  Indiana  and 
Illinois  in  the  year  182^,  with  a  Sketch  of  his  Life  arid 
the  Time  and  Circumstances  of  his  Death.  Indianap- 
olis, printed  by  Douglass  &  Maguire.      13  pp. 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward:  The  Means  of  Securing  Good 
Rulers,  a  Sermon  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  the  Death 
of  Noah  Noble,  late  Governor  of  Indiana.  Indianapo- 
lis, printed  by  E.  Chamberlain,  1844.      27  pp. 

Maxwell,  George  M.  :  A  Discourse  on  the  Death  of 
Samnel  Merrill,  delivered  at  Indianapolis,  August  2^, 
185^,  India7iapolis,  printed  by  the  Indianapolis  Jour- 
nal Company,  1855.      17  pp. 

Parvin,  Theophilus  :  Address  on  the  Life  and  Character 
of  Andrew  Wylie,  D.D.,  late  president  of  the  State 
University  of  Indiana,  delivered  before  the  Alumni  of 
the  University,  July  14,  1858.    Indianapolis,  Cameron 

&  M'Neely,  1858.     42  pp. 

Hopkins,  T.  M.:  Reminiscences  of  Col.  fohn  Ketcham,  of 
Monroe  Cowity,  hidiana.  Bloomington,  Whitaker  & 
Walker,  1866.     22  pp. 


:  /;/  Me^noriam.       Rev.  fames   Chute,  first 

pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana.      Printed  for  family  use,  1874.      6  pp. 

Johnston,  James  H.  :    The  Dead  who  Die  171  the  Lord, 

Blessed.    A  Sermon  preached  in  Centre  Church,  Craw- 

fordsville,  Indiana,  February  26,  i8ji,  on  the  Death  of 

Rev.  Albert  Barnes.      Philadelphia,  Wm.  F.  Murphy 

&  Sons,  1874.      16  pp. 


266  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

TuTTLE,  Joseph  F.  :  Father'  Cai-nahan,  of  Dayton.  A 
Discourse  delivered  at  the  Funeral  of  the  Rev.  fames 
AikmaJi  Carnahan,  at  Dayton,  hidiana,  fanuary  22^ 
iSyg.      Review' Office,  Crawfordsville,  Ind.      12  pp. 

Schenck,  William  E.  :  A  Memorial  Sermon  on  the  Life^ 
Labours  and  Christian  Character  of  Phineas  D. 
Gurley,  D.D.  Washington,  D.  C. ,  William  Ballan- 
tyne,  1869.      62  pp. 

Neill,  Edward  D.  :  Early  Days  of  the  Pr-esbyteriaji 
Church  i7i  Minnesota  ;  the  Substayice  of  a  Discourse 
delivered  before  the  Synod  of  Minnesota,  Septeynber  26, 
i8yj.     xxvii.  pp. 

Patterson,  R.  M.,  and  Davidson,  Robert:  Historical 
Sketch  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  and  Biographical 
Sketches  of  Distinguished  Members  of  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia.  Philadelphia,  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Publication.      128  pp. 

Johnstone,  R.  A.:  An  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Transylvaiiia,  Keritucky.  Louisville,  printed  by 
Bradley  &  Gilbert,  1876.     45  pp. 

Stewart,   D.   M.  :    Historical  Discourse   of    Whitewater 

Presbytery,    delivered    at    Lawrenceburgh,    April    12, 

1876.      Indianapolis,  Baker,  Schmidlap  &  Co.,  1876. 

32  pp. 
Moore,   Ambrose    Y.  :    History   of  the   Presbytery   of 

Indianapolis.      Indianapolis,   J.    G.    Doughty,  printer, 

1876.      132  pp. 
Bishop,    John    M.:    Ed.     Crawfordsville    Presbytery. 

Numbers  i-ii.      Pp.  1-102. 
Whallon,  E.    p.:  History  of  the  Presbytery  of  Vincennes. 

Indianapolis,  1888.      52  pp. 
McNary,    W.    p.  :    A    Memorial   Sermon   of  Rev.   fohn 

Mc Master,  D.D.     Albion,  111.,  1876.      15  pp. 


APPENDIX.  267 

Cressy,  Benjamin  C,  and  Matthews,  John:  A  Dis- 
course on  Ministerial  Qualifications,  delivered  at 
Hanover,  Indiana,  June  29,  1831,  together  with  an 
Address  on  occasion  of  the  Inaiiguration  of  the  latter  as 
Professor  of  Didactic  and  Polemic  Theology  in  the 
Indiana  Theological  Seminary.  Madison,  printed  by 
Arion  &  Lodge,  1831.     30  pp. 

Cressy,  B.C.:  A71  Appeal  in  behalf  of  the  Indiana  Theo- 
logical Semi7iary,  located  at  South  Hanover,  Indiayia. 
Boston,  printed  by  Peirce  &  Parker,  No.  9  Cornhill, 
1832.      16  pp. 

MacMaster,  E.  D.  :  Speech  of  Mr.  MacMaster  in  the 
Synod  of  Indiana,  October  ^,  184.4,  ^^^  relation  to 
Madison  University.  Madison,  Jones  &  Lodge,  1844. 
39  PP- 

Crowe,  John  Finley  :  A  Review  of  Dr.  MacMaster' s 
Speech  before  the  Synod  of  Indiana,  October  4,  1844. 
Madison,  Jones  &  Lodge,  1845. 

:  A  Defence  against  the  late  Assaiilts  upon  the 

New  Albany  Theological  Seminary.      By  the  Trustees. 
New  Albany,  Ind.,  1853.      35  pp. 

MacMaster,  E.  D.  :  Speech  in  the  General  Asse??ibly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  May  jo,  i8^g,  07i  the  Pres- 
byter'ian  Theological  Semhtary  of  the  Northwest.  Cin- 
cinnati, Gazette  Company,  1859.      39  pp. 

:  The  Late  General  Assembly  and  the  Theo- 
logical Semi7iary  of  the  Northwest.  By  ' '  Alpha. ' ' 
1859.      16  pp. 

Edwards,  J. :  Services  of  the  Layi7ig  of  the  Corner-Sto7ie 
and  Addresses  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Chapel  a7id 
Lib7'ary  of  the  Presbyterian  Theological  Sevii7iary  of 
the  No7'thwest  (including  Historical  Review).  Birney, 
Hand  &  Co.,  Chicago.     24  pp. 


268  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

:     Charter  of  Hanover    College,   Hanover, 

Ind.      4  pp. 

Heckman,  George  C.  :  Log  College  of  the  West:  Hano- 
ver College,  or  Early  Christian  Education  by  the 
Presbyterian  Cluirch  in  Indiana.  A  Semi- Centeruiial 
Sketch.      Courier  Print,  Madison,  Ind.      12  pp. 

Tuttle,  Joseph  F.  :  The  Origin  and  Growth  of  Wabash 
College.      Logansport,  Ind.,  1876.      21  pp. 

Tuttle,  Joseph  F.  :  Proceedings  at  the  Quarter- Century 
Anniversary  of  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of 
Collegiate  and  Theological  Education  at  the  West, 
held  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  Nov.  7-10,  1868.  With  an 
appendix.  (Including  address  :  What  has  Wabash 
College  Done  f)  New  York,  The  Iron  &  Smith  Book 
Manufacturing  Company,  1868.      182  pp. 

Wylie,  Andrew:  Sermon  on  the  Subject  of  the  Union  of 
Christians  for  the  Cojiversion  of  the  World.    Delivered 
Madison,     Ind.,     April    20,     18 J4.      Printed    by     J. 
Lodge  and  E.  Patrick,  Madison,  1834.      17  pp. 

Smart,  James  H.  :  Ed.  The  Indiana  Schools  and  the  Men 
who  have  Worked  in  Them.     Cincinnati,  1876. 

WooDBURN,  James  Albert  :  Higher  Education  in  In- 
diana. Washington,  Government  Printing  Office, 
1891. 

Spalding,  M.  J.:  Sketches  of  the  Early  Catholic  Missions 
of  Kejitucky,  from  their  commencement  in  1787  to 
1826-7.     Louisville,  1844. 

Evans,    Madison  :  Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Pioneer 
"^Preachers  of  Indiana.     With  portraits.     J.  Challen  & 
Sons,  Philadelphia,  1862. 

Goode,  W.  H.  :    Outposts  of  Zio7i.      Cincinnati,  1864. 


APPENDIX.  269 

Hi  BEEN,  W.  W. :  Rev.  James  Havens^  07ie  of  the  Heroes 
of  Indiana  Methodism.     Indianapolis,  1872. 

HoLLiDAY,  F.  C. :  India^ia  Methodism.     Cincinnati,  1873. 

Darby,  W.  ]. ,  and  Jenkins,  ].  E. :  Eds.  Cumberland 
Presbyterianism  in  Southern  Indiana.  Indianapolis, 
1876. 

Smith,  J.  C. :  Re^niniscences  of  Early  Methodism  in  In- 
jdiana.  Inchiding  sketches  of  vaj^ious  prominent  min- 
isters together  with  7ia7'ratives  of  women  emine^it  for 
piety,  poetry,  and  song.  Also  descriptions  of  reynark- 
able  camp-meetings,  revivals,  incidents  and  other  mis- 
cellany.  With  an  appendix  co7itaini?ig  essays  07i 
various  theological  subjects  of  practical  i7iterest.  In- 
dianapolis, 1879. 

Slaughter,  P.,  Dashiell,  T.  G.,  and  Others:  Ad- 
dresses and  Historical  Papers  before  the  Ce7iten7iial 
Cou7icil  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  i7i  the 
Diocese  of  Vi7'gi7iia  at  its  77ieeti7ig  m  St.  PauV  s  and 
Si.  folm  s  Churches  i7i  Rich77io7id,  May  20-24.,  ^^^5- 
New  York,  Thomas  Whittaker. 

Sprague,    Wm.    B,  :    A7i7ials   of  the    A77ierican    Pulpit. 
/  New  York,    1865-73. 

FooTE,  William  Henry  :  Sketches  of  North  Caroli7ia, 
historical  a7id  biographical.     New  York,  1846. 

Wheeler,  John  H.  :  Histo7^ical  Sketches  of  No7'th  Caro- 
lina fro77i  1584  to  18^1.  Co77ipiled  fro77i  origi7ial 
records,  official  docu77ients,  a7id  traditio7ial  state7ne7its , 
with  biographical  sketches  of  her  distinguished  states- 
77ie7i,  jurists,  lawyers,  soldiers,  divi7ies,  etc.  Phila- 
delphia,  1 85 1. 

FooTE,  William  Henry  :  Sketches  of  Virgi7iia,  his- 
torical a7id  biog7'aphical.  Philadelphia,  1850.  Ditto, 
second  series,  Philadelphia,  1855. 


270  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Davidson,  Robert:  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  with  a  Preliminary  Sketch 
of  the  Ouirches  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  New 
York,   Robert  Carter,    1847. 

Patterson,  Robert  W.  :  Early  Society  in  Southern 
Illinois.  Address  before  Chicago  Historical  Society, 
October  19,  1880.  Fergus's  Historical  Publications, 
1 88 1.      Illinois  Local  History,  Vol.  VI. 

Norton,  A.  T. :  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  State  of  Illinois.  Vol.  I.  735  pp.  St.  Louis, 
W.  S.  Bryan,  1879. 

Patton,  Jacob  Harris  :  The  Triumph  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Ha7tover;  or,  Separation  of  Church  and  State  ift  Vir- 
gifiia.     New  York,  A.  D.  F.  Randolph,  1888. 

Meade,  W.  :  Old  Churches,  Ministers,  and  Families  of 
Virginia.     Philadelphia,  1857. 

Nevin,  Alfred:   Churches  of  the  Valley. 

Smith,  Joseph  :  Old  Redstone,  or  Historical  Sketches  of 
Wester 71  Presbyterianis?n,  its  Early  Ministers,  its  Perilous 
Times,  and  its  First  Records.     Philadelphia,  1854. 

HoTCHKiN,  James  H.  :  A  History  of  the  Purchase  and 
Settlemefit  of  Western  Neiv  York  a/id  of  the  Rise, 
Progress,  and  Present  State  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
that  Sectiofi.     New  York,  M.  W.  Dodd,  1848. 

Wilson  :  Historical  Almanac. 

:  Index  Volu??te  of  Pri?iceton  Review. 


Nevin,  Alfred  :  E?icyclopcedia  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America.     Philadelphia,    1884. 

Hodge,  Charles:  The  Co7istitutional  History  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States  of  Anierica.  Phila- 
delphia, Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,  1851. 


APPENDIX.  271 

Webster,  Richard:  Histo?'y  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
America  from  its  origin  until  the  year  1760,  with 
Biographical  Sketches  of  its  Early  Ministers.  Philadel- 
phia, 1857. 

GiLLETT,  E.  H. :  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  Afnerica.  2  vols.  Philadelphia 
Presbyterian  Publication  Committee,  1864. 

Briggs,  C.  a.  :  American  Presbyteria7iism,  its  Origin  and 
Early  History.  New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons^ 
1885. 

Smith,   Henry  B.  :    The  Reformed   Churches  of  Europe- 
and  America  in  Relation  to  General  Church  History. 
A71   Address  delivered  before   the    General  Assembly 
May  21,  1835.       Philadelphia,   printed  by  Henry  B. 
Ashmead.      36  pp. 

Green,  Ashbel  :  History  of  Presbyterian  Missions.    1822. 

Smith,  James  :  History  of  the  Cumberland  Presbytei-ian 
Church. 

McDoNNOLD,  B.  W. :  History  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian Church.     679  pp.      Nashville,  1888. 

Gallagher,  James  :  The  Western  Sketch-Book.  Boston, 
1850. 

Alexander,  Archibald  :  Biog7'aphical  Sketches  of  the 
Founder  and  Principal  Alumni  of  the  Log  College. 
Philadelphia,  1851. 

Cleland,  Thomas  :  The  Kentucky  Revival.  (Article  in 
Princeto7i  Review,  Vol.  VI.) 

Alexander,  Archibald:  Review  of  Davidson' s  History. 
(Articles  in  Princeton  Review,  1847,  pp.  141  and  470.) 

Hall,  John:  History  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Chuixh, 
Trejiton,  New  fersey. 


272  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

McGready,    James:    Narrative    prefixed    to    Posthu7nous 

Works. 
Alexander,  James  W.  :  Memoir  of  Archibald  Alexajtder. 
Alexander.  James  W.  :  Memoir  of  James  Wad  del. 

Miller,  Samuel:  Life  of  John  Rodgers.  Philadelphia, 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,  1840. 

Spring,  Gardiner:  Life  of  Samuel  J.  Mills. 

Hatfield,  Edwin  F.  :  A  Memoir  of  Elisha  Baldwin,  D.D., 
First  President  of   Wabash   College.      New  York,   1843. 

.Schermerhorn,  John  F.,  and  Mills,  Samuel  J. :  Com- 
munications Relative  to  the  Progress  of  Bible  Societies 
in  the  United  States  addressed  to  the  Bible  Society  of 
Philadelphia.      Philadelphia,  181 3. 

Schermerhorn,  John  F.,  and  Mills,  Samuel  J.:  A 
Correct  View  of  that  part  of  the  United  States  which 
lies  West  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  with  i-egard  to 
Religion  and  Morals.  Hartford,  Conn.,  18 14.  52 
pp. 

Mills,  Samuel  J.,  and  Smith,  Daniel:  Report  of  a 
Missionary  Tour  through  that  part  of  the  United 
States  which  lies  West  of  the  Allegha7iy  Mountains 
performed  binder  the  direction  of  the  Massachusetts 
Missionary  Society.     Andover,  18 15. 

Morse,  Jedediah  :  Report  to  the  Secretary  of  War  of  the 
United  States  on  Indian  Affairs,  comprising  a  narra- 
tive of  a  tour  performed  in  the  summer  of  1820.  New 
Haven,  18?^. 

McCoy,  Isaac  :  History  of  Baptist  Indian  Missions,  em- 

■  bi'acing  Remarks    on    the   Former   and  Present    Con- 

^'    dition  of  the  Aboriginal  Tribes;  their  Settlement  within 

the    Indian     Territory   and    their   Future    Prospects. 

Washington,  1840. 


APPENDIX.  273 

Peters,  Absalom  :  A  Bidef  Ajiswei^  to  mi  Official  Reply 
of  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  General  Assembly  to 
Six  Letters  of  the  Rev.  Absalom  Peters,  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  America7i  Home  Missionary  Society, 
entitled  ''A  Plea  for  Union  in  the  West:'  Also,  Mr. 
Peters'  Reply  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  f.  L.  Wilson  s  Four 
Propositions  Siistained  against  the  Claims  of  the 
American  Home  Missionary  Society.  With  an  ap- 
pendix. New  York,  printed  by  Clayton  &  Van 
Norden,  1831.     48  pp. 

BouTON,  Nathaniel  :  History  of  the  Origin  of  the 
A77ierican  Home  Missionary  Society.  (Article  in  The 
Home  Missionary,  1876.) 

Hennepin,  Louis  :  Description  de  la  Lozdsiane.  Utrecht, 
1697. 

JouTEL,  :  A  fonrnal  of  the  Last  Voyage  Performed 

by  Monsr.  de  la  Sale,  to  the  Gnlph  of  Mexico,  to  find 
out  the  Month  of  the  Mississippi  River.  London, 
1714. 

VoLNEY,  Constantin  Fran^ois  :  View  of  the  Climate 
and  Soil  of  the  United  States.      London,  1804. 

Bouquet,  Henry  :  An  Historical  Account  of  his  Expe- 
dition against  the  Ohio  Indians  in  1764,  with  preface 
by  Fra7icis  Parkman,  a7id  a  translation  of  Dumas' 
Life  of  Ge7ieral  Bouquet.     Cincinnati,  1868. 

Sargent,  Winthrop  :  Diary  of  Colonel  Wi7ithrop  Sar- 
gent, Adjutant  General  of  the  United  States  Ar77iy 
duiiiig  the  Campaign  of  1791. 

Clark,  George  Rogers  :  Sketch  of  His  Ca77tpaign  in 
the  Illi7iois  in  1778-g,  a7id  a7i  Appendix  containing 
the  Public  and  Private  Instructio7is  to  Col.  Clark; 
and  Major  Bow77ian'  s  fournal  of  the  taking  of  Post 
St.    Vi7ice7its.      Cincinnati,  1869. 


274  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Smith,  William  Henry  :  Ed.  The  Life  and  Public 
Services  of  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Soldier  of  the  Revohttion- 
ary  War,  etc.,  with  his  Correspondence  and  Papers 
arranged  and  annotated.      Cincinnati,  1882. 

Burnet,  Jacob  :  Ahtes  on  the  Early  Settlement  of  the 
Northwestern  Ter7itory.      Portrait.      1847. 

HiLDRETH,   S.    p. :  Pioneer  History ;  An  Account  of  the 
"^  First  Exaniinatio7i  of  the   Ohio  Valley  and  the  Early 

Settlement   of  the    Northwest    Tej'ritory.     Cincinnati, 

1848. 
■,  Cox,  Sandford  C. :  Recollections  of  the  Early  Settlement 

of  the  Wabash  Valley.     La  Fayette,  i860. 

Dawson,  Moses  :  A  Historical  A^arrative  of  the  Civil 
and  Military  Services  of  Major- General  Williajn 
He7iiy  Hai'-rison,  aiid  a  Vindication  of  his  Character 
and  Conduct,  with  a  detail  of  his  Negotiations  and 
Wars  with  the  Indians.      Cincinnati,  1824. 

Todd,  C.  S.  :  Civil  and  Military  Services  of  W.  H. 
Harrison.     Cincinnati,    1847. 

V  Sparks,  Jared  :  Life  of  Anthony    Wayne.     New  York, 

1872. 

I^Parkman,    Francis  :    France    and    England    in    North 
America.      Boston,  1870-84. 

/  Parkman,  Francis  :  La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the 
Great  West.  Eleventh  edition.  Revised  with  ad- 
ditions.     Boston,   1879. 

^Marshall,  H.  :  History  of  Kentucky.      Frankfort,    1824. 

Knapp,  H.  S.  :  History  of  the  Maumee  Valley,  commencing 
with  its  occupation  by  the  French  in  1680.  Toledo, 
Ohio,   1872. 

/Dillon,  John  B.:  A  History  of  Indiana,  from  its  Earliest 
Exploration  by  Europeans  to  the  close  of  the  Territorial 


APPENDIX.  275 

Governmejit  in  18 16  ;  Comprehending  a  History  of 
the  Discovery,  Settlement,  and  Civil  and  Military 
Affairs  of  the  Territory  of  the  United  States,  North- 
west of  the  River  Ohio,  ajid  a  General  Review  of  the 
Progress  of  Public  Affairs  in  Indiaiia,  from  18 16  to 
18^6.      Map  and  illustrations.      Indianapolis,  1859. 

Goodrich,    DeWitt   C.  ,   and   Tuttle,   Charles   R.  : 
/    Illustrated  History  of  the  State  of  Indiana.      Indianap- 
olis, Richard  S.  Peale  &  Co.,  1875. 

English,   Wm.   Hayden  :    Conquest  of  the    Country   N. 
/      IV.   of  the  River   Ohio.      2   vols.      Indianapolis,   The 
Bowen- Merrill  Company,  1896. 

Dunn,  J.  P.,  Jr.:  Indiana,  a  Redemption  fro^n  Slavery. 
Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  1888. 

S^iTH,  William  Henry:  History  of  the  State  of  Indiana. 
2  vols.     The  B.  L.  Blair  Company,  Indianapolis,  1897. 

Smith,  Oliver  H.  :  Early  Indiana   Trials  and  Sketches. 
^     Cincinnati,  1858. 

Brice,   Wallace  A. :  History  of  Fort   Wayne,  Lidiana, 
^y^    with  Biographical  Sketches  of  Anthony    Wayne  and 
others.      Illustrated.      Fort  Wayne,  1868. 

Brown,  Ignatius  :  Indianapolis  Dij-ectory,  i868-g.  (To 
which  is  prefixed.  History  of  Indianapolis.')  Indian- 
apolis, 1868. 

HoLLOWAY,   W.    R. :   Indianapolis,  a  Historical  and  Sta- 
*  tistical  Sketch.      Indianapolis,  1870. 

/NowLAND,  J.  H.  B. :  Early  Remiyiiscences  of  Indianapolis. 
^  Indianapolis,  1870. 

Stewart,    James    Hervey  :    Recollections   of  the   Early 
I         Settlement  of   Carroll    County,    India^ia.     Cincinnati, 
1872. 


276  EARLY    INDIANA    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Young,  Andrew  W.  :  History  of  Wayne  County,  Indiana. 
Illustrated.     Cincinnati,    1872. 

Packard,  Jasper  :  History  of  La  Porte  County,  Indiana. 
La  Porte,  1876. 

Hovey,  Alvin  p.  ,  AND  Edson,  William  P. :  Centennial 
Historical  Sketch  of  Posey  County,  Indiana,  and  a 
Centejinial  Oration  by  William  P.  Edson.  Mount 
Vernon,  1876, 

^/  NowLAND,  J.    H,    B. :  Sketches  of  Prominent   Citizens  of 
Indianapolis.      Indianapolis,  1877. 

Reports  of  Connecticut  Missionary  Society. 

Reports  of  American  Home  Missionary  Society. 

Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine,  1 793-1 820. 

New  York  Missionary  Magazine. 

Indiana  Religious  Intelligencer,  Madison,  1828-9,  Rev. 
James  H.  Johnston,  editor. 

Pa7idect,  Cincinnati,  1828,  Rev.  Joshua  L.  Wilson,  D.D., 
editor. 

Cincinnati  Christian  fournal,  1829. 

Western  Missionary  Magazine. 
Evangelical  and  Literary  Magazine  (Rice). 
Van  Rensselaer's  Presbyterian  Magazine. 
Abolition  Intelligencer  (Crowe). 
Missouri  Presbyterian  Recorder  (Hill,  Bullard  &  Homes). 

Western  Cerisor  and  Emigrants'  Guide  (Indianapolis). 

Indianapolis   Gazette. 

Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly,  Synod  of  Kentucky, 
Synod  of  Indiana,  Presbytery  of  Transylvania,  West 
Lexington  Presbytery,  Saleni  Presbytery,  Madison 
Presbytery. 


INDEX. 


A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  153. 

Abingdon  Presbytery,  47,  99. 

Alden,  Lucius,  75,  206,  207-9. 

Alexander,    Archibald,    85,     90,    94,     128, 

245- 
Alexander,  Samuel  R.,  49.  107. 
Alexander,  Thomas,  107. 
Alexander,  William  A.  P.,  107. 
Allegheny  Seminary,  174,  234,  235. 
Allouez,  Father,  20. 
American  Bible  Society,  183,  193. 
American  Home  Missionary  Society,  150, 

174,  175,  200,  202,  204,  206,  212,  213,  214, 

217,  224,  225,  227,  257. 
American  Tract  Society,  193. 
Amherst  College,  117. 
Anderson,  Joseph,  6i. 
Anderson,  Rufus,  153. 
Andover  Seminary,  129,  206,  207,  224,  227, 

241. 
Armstrong,  John,  38. 
Assembly's  Committee  of  Missions,  59,  71, 

84,  169,  170,  192,  200,  255. 
Ayres,  Elias,  243. 
Bainbridge,  212. 
Balch,  Hezekiah,  99. 
Balch,  Hezekiah  James,  99. 
Balch,  James,  98-100,  109,  123,  155,  169. 
Balch,  Stephen  Bloomer,  99. 
Baldridge,  Samuel,  46,  47,  48,  49.   50.  5i> 

79,  169,  228. 
Baldridge,  Samuel  C,  49.  5°.  53.  75- 
Baldwin,  Elihu  W.,  252,  253. 
Banks,  Daniel  C,  84,  123,  152. 
Barnes,  Albert,  196,  205. 
Barton,  William  B.,  133. 
Basye,  Lismund,  142. 
Baxter,  Richard,  96. 
Beatty,  Charles  C,  36,  154,  i55.  i9i- 
Bedford,   115. 
Bethany  church,  112. 
Bethlehem,  57. 
Be  van,  Philip,  75. 


Bishop,  George  B.,  250. 

Blackburn,  Samuel  E.,  217. 

Blair,  Robert,   13. 

Blake,  James,  141,  1^4,  171- 

Bliss,  Stephen,  107,  187,  210. 

Bloomington,  114,   115,    122,    143,   186,   187^ 

189,  218,  229,  230. 
Bloomington  State  Seminary,  iii,  169,  186 

187. 
Blue  River  congregation,  81,  103. 
Blythe,  James,  234. 
Boardman,  George  S.,  133. 
Bono  church,  104. 
Boone,  Daniel,  17. 
Booneville,  224. 
Bovelle,  Stephen,  51,  53. 
Breckinridge,  John,  94. 
Brookville,  119,  134. 
Brown,  Samuel,  81. 
Brown,  Tilly  H.,  167,  169,  187,  200. 
Brownstown  church,  84,  119. 
Burlington,  Ind.,   151. 
Burroughs,  George  S.,  253. 
Bush,   George,    97,   169-84,    187,    189,    192, 

193,  214,  225,  235. 
Butler,  Calvin,  224-6. 
Caesar  Creek,  209. 
Cameron,  Archibald,  36,  38,  45. 
Camahan,  James  A.,  252. 
Carolinas,  11,  13,  28. 
I  Cartwright,  Peter,  41. 
Centerville,  114. 
Charlestown,  41,  45.  5'.  53.  55.  64,  95.  120, 

155,  168,  174,  234,  235,  236. 
Charlestown,  Va.,  244. 
Cheever,  Joshua  Cushman,  232. 
Cheever,  William  M.,  105,  160,  232,  233. 
Chute,  James,  150. 
Cincinnati,  35,  52,  134,  i79- 
Clark,  George  Rogers,  23,  27,  28. 
Clark  grants,  95. 
Clark,  Marston  G.,  138. 
Cleland,  Philip  S.,  113,  116. 


277 


278 


INDEX. 


Cleland,  Thomas,  31,  37,  38,  40,  41,  51,  81, 

109,  136,  147. 
Cobb,  Leander,  225,  226,  227,  237. 
Coe,  Isaac,  141,  142,  144,  170,  171. 
Coligny,  Admiral,  11. 
Columbus,  Ind.,  72,  227. 
Concord  church,  75,  120. 
Condict,  Lewis,  171,  177. 
Connecticut  Missionary  Association,  82,  83, 

loi,  133,  142,  146,  206,  256. 
Connersville,  134. 
Conner,  William,   138. 
Corydon,  80,  138,  154,  190. 
Craighead,  Thomas,  19,  93. 
Crawford,  James,  18,  19. 
Crawford,  James,  of  Indiana,  217. 
Crawfordsville,  71,   155,   196,  202,  203,  205, 

210,  225,  227,  251,  252. 
Cressy,  Benjamin  C,  103,  241,  242. 
Crowe,  John    Finley,   79,  97,   156,  157-61, 

162,  171,  174,  200,  205,  231,  232,  236,  237. 
Crozier,  John,  106. 
Cumberland  church,  34. 
Cumberland  controversy,  37. 
Cumberland  Presbytery,  99. 
Cunningham,  John  W.,  250. 
Curtis,  Harvey,  75. 
Dablon,  Claude,  20. 
Danville,  Ky.,  no,  157,  185. 
Dartmouth  College,  136,  146,  170. 
Davies,  Samuel,  16,    17,   19,  85,  86,  87,  89, 

92,  96. 
Davies,  Samuel,   13. 

Day,  Ezra  H.,  97,  145,  152,  153,  167,  169. 
Delphi,  190. 

Derrow,  Nathan  B.,  75,  83. 
De  Soto,  20. 

Dickerson,  Henry  L.,  210. 
Dickey,  James  H.,  45,  53. 
Dickey,  John   McElroy,  40,  54,  61-79,  97, 

loi,  109,  136,  152,   158,  162,  171,  200,  205, 

219,  228,  231,  234,  235,  236,  237. 
Dickey,  Ninian  S.,  67,  97. 
Dickey,  William,  63,  84. 
Dillsborough,  50,  208. 
Doak,  Samuel,  46,  47,  51. 
Domestic  Missionary  Society,  193,  197. 
Dufour,  27. 
Dunbar,  n. 
Duncan,  James,  217. 
Dunlaps^ille,  134. 
Dunn,  Williamson,  119,  189,  234.  252. 


Eagle  Creek  church,  96. 

Ebenezer  church,  154. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  86,  87. 

Eliot,  John,   11. 

Ellis,  John  M.,  251. 

Evansville,  84,  224. 

Fall  River,  Mass.,  124,  125. 

Finley,  Samuel,  56,  158. 

Florida,  11. 

Foote,  Obed,  170. 

Fort  Wayne  (Kekionga),  20,  22,  24,  26,  28, 

29,  52,  148,  149,  150. 
Fowler,  Orin,  75,  97,  loi,  116,  117-27,  152. 
Franklin,  72,  104,  135,  136. 
Frazer,  Alexander,  171. 
Fulton,  Samuel,  36. 
Gaines,  Ludwell  G.,  142. 
General  Assembly,   61,    loi,    no,   128,129, 

131,  133,  148,  156,  171,  174,  200,  210,  218, 

234,  235,  243,  247,  255,  256,  260. 
Gilliland,  John,  251. 
Goodell,  William,  75,  97,  153,  154- 
Graham  church,  83. 
Granville,  Ohio,  no. 
Gray,  Daniel,  61. 
Graysville,  100. 
Green,  Lewis  W.,  250. 
Greensburgh,  212. 
Greenville  College,  99. 
Greenwood,  98. 
Gregg,  Samuel,  210. 
Hall,   Baynard   R.,    no,   n4,   169,  184-90, 

193,  218,  229. 
Hall,  Nathan  H.,  63. 
Hamilton  College,  196,  198. 
Hamilton,  James,  13. 
Hamilton,  John  T.,  167,  168,  169,  235. 
Hampton,  John,  13. 
Hanna,  Samuel,  149. 

Hanover  Academy,  201,  234,  236,  237,  241. 
Hanover  College,  79,  159,  230,  234,  246. 
Hanover,  Ind.,   50,   57,   115,    136,   159,  232, 

239.  244- 
Hanover  Theological  Seminary,  240,  241. 
Hanover,  Va.,  14,  16,  18,  19,  87,  90. 
Harmar,  28. 
Harney,  John  H.,  229. 
Harris,  Thompson  S.,  133 
Harrison,  Ohio,  118. 
Harrison,  William  Henry,   23,  28,  39,  41, 

80. 
Hawley,  Ransom,  116. 


INDEX. 


279 


Henderson,  Alexander,  13. 

Henderson,  William,  227. 

Hickman,  Clement,  84,  169. 

Hobart,  Peter,  11. 

Hoge,  Samuel  D.,  170. 

Holland,  134. 

Holt,  Samuel,  30. 

Honey  Creek  church,  49. 

Hopewell  church  (Turman's  Creek),  100. 

Hovey,  Edmund  O.,  251. 

Howe,  John,  64. 

Humphrey,  Edward  P.,  24S. 

Indiana  Missionary  Society,   72,   193,  200, 

201,  209,  224,  225,  231,  25S. 
Indiana  Religious  Intelligeiicer,  202. 
Indianapolis,    104,     138-47.    '55'    i/o.    i74, 

178,    186,    187,    189,    191,    192,  2[4- 

Indiana,   Synod  of,    161,  210.   216,  219-24, 

236,  260. 
Indiana  Theological    Seminary,    159,    174. 

234,  242,  247. 
Jacob,  Henry,  12. 
Jefferson  church,  121. 
Jeffersonville,  55,  217. 
Jenks,  Ahab,  133. 

Johnston,  James  H.,  72,  79,   151,  159.  192, 
193,  194-205,  224,  231,  234,  236,  237,  239, 
240. 
Joutel,  21,  22. 
Kemper,  James,  35,  36,  53. 
Kentucky,  14,  17,  18,  19,  2<<,  29,  30,  31,  32, 
35>  3S,   39,   40,   41,  46,   47,   53,  60,  82,  93, 
96,  109,  no.  III,  146,  147,  154,  158- 
Kentucky,  Synod  of ,  131,  162,  218,  259 
Ketcham,  John,  25,  122. 
Kingston,  135,  212. 
Knox  County,  42,  45. 
La  Fayette  (Ouiatenon),  22,  24,  26,  189. 
Laggan  Presbytery,  12,  13. 
Lancaster  Presbytery,  48. 
Lapsley,  Joseph  B.,  51,  53,  8i. 
La  Salle,  21. 
Law,  John,  28. 
Lawrenceburgh,  46,  47,  48,  50,  53,  55'  '34: 

228,  259. 
Lexington,  42,  51,  68. 
Lindsley,  Philip,  250. 
Little,  Henry,  74,  115,  190,  202,  210. 
Livingston,  Robert,  11,  12. 
Livonia,  82,  103,  104,  106,   145. 
Londonderry,  13. 
Long  Island  Presbytery,  108. 


Louisville,  39,  95,  123,  168. 
Louisville  Presbytery,  155,  168,  217,  259. 
Lowry,  Samuel  G.,  155,  212-3. 
Lowry,  William,  117,  227. 
Lyle,  John,  102. 

MacMaster,  Erasmus  Darwin,  246-50. 
MacMaster,  Gilbert,  246. 
Madison,  57,  58,  59,  72,    109,   119,  124,  128. 
136,  156,  168,  192,  198,  199,  200,  202,  203. 
Madison  Presbytery,  58,  210,  212,  217,  218, 

232. 
Madison  University,  246. 
Makemie  Francis,  12,  13,  14,  18. 
Marest,  Father,  22 
Marquette,  20,  21. 
Martin,  Claudius  B.  H.,  107. 
Martin,  Samuel  N.  D.,  107. 
Martin,  William  A.  P.,  107. 
Martin,   William   W.,    79,   97,    loi,    102-7, 
109,  119,  120,  144,   158,  162,  170,  205,  219, 
226,  228,  231,237. 

Massachusetts  Missionary  Society,  54,  55. 

Matthews,   John,    174,  205,  237,  239,  241, 
243-6. 

McCalla,  Daniel,  91. 

McClelland,  John,  13. 

McClung,  John  A.,  95. 

McClure,  Andrew,  19. 

McClure,  D.,  109. 

McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  243. 

McCoy,  Isaac,  148. 

McFarland,  Francis,  133. 
\  McGready,  James,  31,  32,  33,  34,  35.  4i.  43. 
53,  81,  84,  100. 

McLeod,  Lewis,  209. 

McNemar,  Richard,  134. 

McNish,  George,  13. 

Mecklenburgh  Declaration,  n,  99. 

Merrill,  Samuel,  76. 

Miami  Presbytery,  4S,  52.  56,  i34.  259- 

Miami  University,  246. 

Middlebury  College,  150. 

Milligan,  Thomas  S.,  68,  73,  213. 

Mills,  Caleb,  252. 

Mills,  Samuel  J.,  35,  40,  54.  55.  5^,  61,  75- 

Missouri,  129,  133,  142. 

Missouri  Presbytery,  218. 

Monfort,  David,  133-5.  136. 

Moore,  James,  91,  94. 

Moreland,  John  R.,  178,  237 

Moriah,  N.  Y.,  114. 

Morris  Reading  House,  15. 


28o 


INDEX. 


Mount  Carmel,  134. 

Mount  Pleasant,  120. 

Muhlenburg  Presbytery,  65,  167,  259,  260. 

Nelson,  Samuel  K.,  no. 

Nesbit,  William,  2 10. 

New  Albany,    55,  84,    109,    no,    145,    151, 

152,  167,  168,  243,  247,  249. 
New  Brunswick  Presbytery,  86,  170,  210. 
New  Castle  Presbyter}^  52. 
New  Hope  church,  49,  75. 
New  Lexington  church,  68,  71,  121. 
New  Providence  church,  50,  72,  98. 
New  Winchester,  212. 
New  York,  109. 
North  Carolina,  32,  33,  34. 
Northwestern  Territor>',  23. 
Noyes,  James,  n. 
Ogden,  Isaac  A.,  218. 
Ohio,  30,  35. 
Ohio,  Falls  of  the,  55. 
Ohio,  Synod  of,  149,  259. 
Oneida  Female  Missionary  Society,  108. 
Orleans,  103,  104. 
Oxford,  Ohio,  118. 
Palestine  church,  104. 
Palmyra  church,  45,  53,  64. 
Paoli,  103,  104,  119,  226. 
Paris,  Ky.,  102. 
Parker,  Thomas,  n. 
Parkersburgh,  212. 
Peaks  of  Otter,  18,  19. 
Pennsylvania,  13,  32,  102. 
Perrin,  Truman,  216. 
Pisgah  church,  68,  71,  75,  81. 
Pittinger,  Nicholas,  156. 
Pittsburg  Missionary  Society,  61. 
Piatt,  Adams  W.,  133. 
Posey,  Thomas,  80,  138,  151. 
Post,  Martin  M.,  73,  79. 
Princeton  College,  17,  85,  89,  129,  170,   185. 
Princeton,  Ind.,  84,  103,  104,  224,  226,  246. 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  19,  93,  158,  169,  174,   179, 

192,  193,  196,  197,  217,  227,  239. 
Princeton  Seminary,  m,  128,  129,  134,  136, 

150,  158,  170,  196,  209. 
Proctor,  David  Choate,  142,  143,  145,  146, 

147.  154,  169,  170. 
Putnamville,  115. 
Rankin,  Adam,  18,  19. 
Rankin,  Arthur  T.,  47. 
Rankin,  John,  47,  150. 
Rannels,  Samuel,  31,  41,  102. 


Ray,  James  M.,  141,  142,  144,  171,  217. 

Redstone  Presbytery,  33. 

Reed,  Isaac,  97,  loi,  107-16,  iig,  123,  136, 
142,  144.  152,  162,  170,  171,  187,  189,  192,. 
228. 

Rice,  David,  17,  18,  19,  36,  38,  85,  90. 

Richmond,  Ind.,  150,  169. 

Ripley,  Ohio,  150. 

Rising  Sun,  36,  75,  209,  259. 

Rivet,  Father,  228. 

Roan,  John,  16. 

Robertson,  Samuel  B.,  31,  41,  45,  53. 

Robinson,  Charles  Stebbins,  129,  130. 

Robinson,  Hezekiah,  251. 

Robinson,  Joseph,  218. 

Robinson,  William,  of  Indiana,  48,  51,  54,, 
56,  57.  59,  60,  65,  79,  loi,  109,  122,  136, 
162,  169,  228. 

Robinson,  William,  of  Virginia,  15,  16. 

Rockville,  212. 

Rodgers,  Ravaud   K.,   loi,   123,    127,    128,. 

129,  155- 
Ross,  John,  73,  75,  148,  149,  150,  151,   153, 

169. 
Salem  church,  82,  103,  119,  120. 
Salem  Presbytery,  113,  155,  162-6,  167,  169,. 
187,  200,  210,  217,  218,  226,  231,  232,  259, 
260. 
Schermerhom,  John  F.,  54. 
Scott,  Samuel  Thornton,  40,  42,  43,  44,  51, 
53.  54,  64,  65,  79,  loi,  109,  154,  162,  169,. 
192,  193,  205.  226,  228,  259. 
Scott,  William  M.,  250. 
Scribner,  Joel,  151. 
Scudder,  Caleb,  141,  143,  171. 
Searle,  Thomas  C,  136,  137,  156,  169. 
Shannon,  Samuel,  81. 
Shelby,  Colonel,  39. 
Shelbyville,  98. 
Shiloh  church,  154. 
Small,  Colonel,  41. 
Smith,  Daniel,  54,  55. 
South  Carolina,  161. 
South  Marion  church,  96,  98. 
Spencer,  189. 
Sprague,  William  B.,  117. 
Spring,  Gardiner,  239. 
St.  Clair,  Arthur,  23,  28. 
Stevens,  Thomas,  79. 
Stevens,  William,  12. 
Stewart,  James,  210. 
Stowe,  Harriet  Heecher,  78. 


INDEX. 


281 


Sullivan,  Jeremiah,  138,  183. 

Taylor,  Nathaniel,  13. 

Taylor,  Samuel,  169. 

Templin,  Terah,  18. 

Tennents,  16. 

Tennessee,  28,  35,  47,  83,  133. 

Terre  Haute,  52,  134,  155,  226. 

Thomas,  Thomas  Ebenezer,  250. 

Thomson,  James,  227,251. 

Thomson,  John,  134. 

Thomson,  John  S.,  251. 

Thornton,  John,  91. 

Tipton,  15 1. 

Todd,  Henry  G.,  96. 

Todd,  John,  Colonel,  91. 

Todd,  John,   of   Indiana,   79,   84-98,    loi, 

109,  162,  228. 
Todd,  John,  of  Virginia,  17,  85-92. 
Transylvania  Academy,  42. 
Transylvania  Presbytery,  19,  31,  36,  37,  45, 

51,  56,  61,  93,  94,  99,  109,  255,  258,  259. 
Transylvania  University,  134. 
Trimble,  Joseph,  156,  169,  198. 
Turman's  Creek,  100,  155. 
Tuttle,  Joseph  F.,  204,  253. 
Union  College,  185,  192,  246. 
United  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  112, 

132,  170,  207,  209,  257. 
Vance,  James,  36,  45,  53. 
Vancourt,  John,  133. 
Velona,  120. 

Vermont  University,  170. 
Vernon  church,  136. 
Versailles,  115. 
Vevay,  119. 
Vincennes,  23,  24,   25,   26,  28,   31,   32,  36, 

37,  39,  40,  41    44,  45,  5i,  S3.  57,  64,  71, 

104.  122,  123,  124,  138,   154,  155,  1S7,  192, 

211,  216,  218,  219,  228,  259. 
Vincennes  University,  229,  230. 
Virginia,  13,   18,  23,  27,  2S,  31,  35,  46,  83, 

92,  9S. 


Virginia,  Synod  of,  259. 

Volney,  C.  F.  C,  25,  26. 

Wabash  College,  88,  212,  227,  250. 

Wabash  Presbytery,  178,  218. 

Waddel,  James,  85,  91,  92,  loi. 

Wallace,  Matthew  G.,  48,  52,  53,  148. 

Walnut  Hills,  174,  234,  235. 

Washington  Academy,  93. 

Washington  church,  54,  65,  212,  224,  226. 

Washington  College,  47,  190,  229. 

Washington,  George,  14,  27. 

Washington  Presbytery,  48,  259. 

Waveland,  212. 

Wayne,  Anthony,  24,  27. 

Welsh,  James,  48,  61. 

West    Lexington    Presbj'tery,    31,    42,   93, 

102,  259. 
West  Salem  church,  104. 
Whitaker,  Alexander,  11. 
White,  Charles,  253. 
Whitefield,  George,  88. 
Whitewater,  139. 
Wick,  William  W.,  171. 
Williams  College,  54,  116,  129. 
Williams,  Jesse  L.,  52. 
Williamson,  Alexander,   169,   187,   190,  191, 

193,  200. 
Williamson,  Thomas,  30. 
Wilson,  Joshua  L.,  48. 
Wilson,  Peter,  52. 
Wirt,  William,  loi. 
Wood,  James,  250. 
Woolsey,  Theodore  D.,  203,  204. 
Wylie,  Andrew,  189,  229. 
Wylie,  William,  81. 
Yale  College,  117,  203. 
Yandes,  Daniel,  170. 
Young,    John,    169,     193,     195,     194,     198, 

199. 
Young  Men's  Missionary   Society  (N.  Y.), 

136,  257. 


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